The group of friends inside the music room were moved a distance away from Areum and Namra after hearing Hyeryeong questioning them about their bite marks. Cheongsan was the only student who remained on his spot as he examined their bite marks from afar. Once he was confirmed that the two female students indeed had a bite mark on them, Cheongsan rushed to the back of the room and grabbed a music stand as a weapon to defend himself. In a hurry, Suhyeok and Wujin made eye contact with each other and agreed to protect the two defenseless girls as they rushed over to Cheongsan before he could reach the two girls who still remained on their seats.

“No. It’s not what it looks like.” Suhyeok claimed. Suhyeok blocked Cheongsan from approaching the two girls while Wujin dashed behind his cousin and the class president.

“Move. Step back, Suhyeok.” Cheongsan ordered, still holding the music stand in his hands.

“I’m telling you it’s not, you asshole.” The tall boy retorted as he stared at his close friend. Then, Suhyeok turned his gaze toward Areum and Namra in order to prove Cheongsan was wrong about his assumption. 

“Tell him. The two of you weren’t bitten by a zombie.” Suhyeok uttered as he stared at Areum and Namra, who were intently observing Cheongsan’s action. The rest of their friends were waiting cautiously for them to say something, but they only received a sigh from Areum, who had averted her brown eyes to Suhyeok’s black eyes.

“Why won’t you guys say anything? Areum-ah, say something.“ Suhyeok desperately tried to tell the girl he likes to say something in order to avoid any suspicion from their friends, especially Cheongsan. When Areum did not utter any words, Suhyeok glanced at Cheongsan and the rest of the friends. 

“It wasn’t a zombie. Gwinam bit them.” The tall boy explained, making the boy in front of him frown in confusion.

“Who?” Cheongsan asked in disbelief.

“Gwinam. The bully.” Suhyeok replied.

“Yoon Gwinam?” The boy in the green vest questioned again.

“Yes.” The tall boy answered.

“Areum, Namra. Were the two of you really bitten by Gwinam?” The boy in the green vest inquired toward the two girls. Both Areum and Namra nodded their heads in response. “Say it clearly.” He sternly instructed.

“It’s true.” Wujin claimed, still standing behind the two wounded girls. “I saw him bite the two of them. We can’t stop him after he beat us to death. “ He added as he stared at Cheongsan.

“Gwinam was bitten by zombies.” Cheongsan informed Suhyeok and Wujin as he stared at them.

“What bullshit is that, moron?” Suhyeok scoffed as he shielded Areum from Cheongsan’s view using his body while Wujin stared at Cheongsan in doubt.

“I saw him get bitten.” The boy in the school vest uttered as he watched Suhyeok and Wujin in concern. “If you get bitten by a zombie, you turn into one. So, if Gwinam bit them-” 

“He’s not one of them!” Suhyeok shouted as the zombies outside of the room growled loudly and banging on the wooden door after hearing some noise. Suhyeok took a quick glance toward the sound and returned his focus back to his close friend. 

“Gwinam wasn’t a zombie. He wasn’t.” The tall boy convinced the rest of the group. “He literally talked and recognised me. Wujin also saw him talking normally to us.” He continued as he turned to Wujin for his help.

“He’s right. Gwinam talked normally like he wasn’t a zombie. He even asked me who I was after he beat me. There’s no way he’s a zombie. He doesn’t look like them.” Wujin informed as he pointed his finger toward the group of zombies outside the music room. 

“Areum, Namra. You guys saw him too. He wasn't a zombie at all.” Suhyeok insisted as he watched Areum stare at Cheongsan in confusion and stood from her seat.

“Are you sure Gwinam was bitten by a zombie?” Areum asked in a low voice as she tried to clear the confusion in her mind.

“Yeah.” Cheongsan stated. Areum’s facial expression turned into fear after hearing her friend’s answer. 

“Then, we’ll turn into zombies.” Areum muttered as she held her tears from falling from her brown eyes. Overheard her muttering, Suhyeok quickly turned his attention toward the black-haired girl in worry, suddenly feeling afraid that Areum would leave the room for the safety of others.

“You won’t. Stop it.” Suhyeok softly uttered as he stared at her brown eyes. 

Not wanting to cry in front of him, Areum averted her eyes away from him and toward her close friend, who was still sitting on her chair. The two intelligent duo were having a silent conversation through their eyes about leaving the room for the safety of others while Suhyeok and Wujin watched them in worry from where they were standing. Namra nodded her head in agreement after their silent conversation. Once Namra stood from her seat, she gently clasped her hand together with Areum’s. Before they left the room, Areum stared at Suhyeok with sadness. 

“I…” Areum wanted to confess to the boy she likes before turning into a zombie but she stopped herself from doing it. “Nevermind. I’ll leave the room. Namra and I will leave the room before we hurt you guys.” The black haired girl announced as she watched the glimmering light in Suhyeok’s eyes disappear.

“Thanks for everything, Suhyeok-ah.” Areum softly smiled at him before Namra and herself went to the front door entrance. Both Suhyeok and Wujin stared at the two female’s appearances as they began to walk to the front room.

“Hey, Son Areum.” Suhyeok called Areum by her full name

“Hey, Prez.” At the same time, Wujin also called Namra. The two intelligent duos stopped their movement when they heard the two boys calling them. From the corner of her eyes, Areum spotted Namra turning her whole body toward Wujin with solemn expression. 

“I wondered why you never call me by my name, Wujin.” Namra quietly uttered to her close friend’s cousin. 

Without waiting for any response and wasting time any longer, both Areum and Namra continued to walk toward the door entrance. Unknown to the two girls, Suhyeok and Wujin rushed after them and stopped them from leaving the room. Suhyeok grasped Areum’s wrist while Wujin clasped his hand around Namra’s wrist. Both girls turned their whole body with force after the boys grasped their respective wrists, making the girls’ intertwined hands lose their grip on each other.

“You’re not one of them.” Suhyeok sternly expressed as he stared at Areum’s brown eyes. Then, without any struggle, Suhyeok pulled Areum along with him as they went near their group of friends while Wujin and Namra remained in their position as they quietly listened to them. The class president looked down at her hand when Wujin intertwined their hands together.

“She won’t turn into a zombie. Neither does Namra. Don’t you trust me?” Suhyeok exclaimed as he glanced over at his friends. 

“I saw Gwinam got bit.” Cheongsan said as he lifted the music stand in front of him in defense. “It happened while we fought.”

“Wujin and I fought him too. Believe me.” Suhyeok argued in frustration as he stared at the boy in front of him. “That’s how I know.” The tall boy added as he clutched their intertwined hand tightly. 

After a moment of silence in the music room, Suhyeok looked at his friends’  hesitant expressions as they did not know who to believe. Trying to prove his statement, Suhyeok went to the window that had natural light from outside, pulling Areum along through their intertwined hands. Pulling the white curtain aside, the tall boy opened the window and turned to face the group of friends. Suhyeok lifted their intertwined hand through the sunlight as Areum looked away from her friends.

“See this? If she turns, I’ll throw her out of the window, so she won’t attack you. So, don’t say anything.” Suhyeok uttered as he glared at Cheongsan. Both Daesu and Joonyeong shared a look with each other when they heard the tall boy serious tone as the two boys aware Suhyeok’s feeling toward Areum.

Standing beside Suhyeok near the window, Areum was biting her lips when her eyes started to fill with tears. Namra solemnly watched Areum biting her lips, fully aware that small action was Areum’s way to not let the tears fall from her eyes. 

“Suhyeok-ah.” Cheongsan called his friend.

“Don’t say anything, asshole.” The tall boy once again repeated as Suhyeok lowered their intertwined hands. 

“You don’t need to do this. Please, don’t fight.” Areum whispered as she stared at Suhyeok. Once he heard her whisper, Suhyeok averted his attention toward the girl beside him with a serious expression.

“You stay quiet too.” Suhyeok muttered as they stared at each others’ eyes. Overheard the clanking of the metal music stand, the tall boy glanced over at Cheongsan, who was ready to swing the music stand towards the black haired girl.

“Don’t come closer.” Suhyeok warned as he tightened their intertwined hands. Cheongsan slowly walked his way toward the two students near the window, completely forgetting about Namra and Wujin on the other side of the room. 

“I’m warning you.” Suhyeok once again warned Cheongsan as the tall boy harshly glared toward the boy holding the music stand.

“Screw you. I warned you first.” Cheongsan uttered as he was ready to swing the music stand to the class vice president.

“Get lost.” Suhyeok harshly ordered. He took a step forwards and hiding Areum’s figure from Cheongsan’s view.

“Gyeongsu was enough. I won’t lose any more friends.” Cheongsan spoke as he looked at Suhyeok’s direction. Hearing the two close friends arguing back and forth, Areum hid her face away from her friends and closed her eyes when she felt her tears start to fall from her eyes.

“Get out of the way.” Cheongsan ordered.

“I said stay away. I told you to stop it, fucker.” Suhyeok cursed. The tall boy let go of their intertwined hands as he charged toward his close friend and pushed him away by his collar.

“Move out of the way!” Cheongsan yelled as he tried to push his way to reach Areum. The two close friends then began to fight each other while the rest of the friends stood in shock after witnessing the scene in front of them. 

“Stop it, both of you!” Areum shouted, making the two boys stop their fighting. The whole room could hear the zombies outside of the room start to growl in distance after they heard the loud commotion from inside of the room. 

Suhyeok and Cheongsan breathed heavily once they stopped their fighting. Releasing their grips on one another, Suhyeok turned to look at Areum, who held onto her tears in her eyes. The beauty stared at the two boys with a stony-faced expression.

“If I feel strange in any way…I’ll make sure I’ll die quickly.” Areum mentioned in a cold manner. 

“I’m sorry, but…” Cheongsan began as Areum interrupted his speech.

“There’s no need to be sorry. It’s human basic instinct to survive when they spot something out of the ordinary on someone. I just feel sorry toward Namra since she’s also got bitten because of my recklessness.” Areum mentioned in a monotone voice. 

“I’m sorry.” Cheongsan apologised as he stared at the black haired girl.

“Suhyeok-ah. Push me if I turn.” The black haired girl instructed. Then, out of nowhere, Areum stepped on the wooden chair as one of her hands held onto the window frame and sat on top of the window ledge. Both of Suhyeok’s eyes widened when he watched the beauty sat at the edge of the window ledge.

“Yah!” Suhyeok yelled as he rushed toward the girl he likes. Both of his hands reached to her arms, preventing the black hair girl from falling from the window. Suhyeok watched as a single tear started to fall from her eye.  

“Areum-ah!” The same time as Suhyeok yelled, both Namra and Wujin also shouted her name when they saw her sitting on the edge of the window ledge. Wujin pulled Namra through their intertwined hands toward where his cousin was sitting on top of the window ledge.

***********

Areum was still sitting on the window ledge as she held onto the window frame. Suhyeok was standing closely beside her as his right hand held onto her wrist while his left hand supported her back, preventing her from falling backward from the window. Through the corner of her eyes, Areum could spot Namra was sitting on a chair with the company of Wujin, a few feets from them. 

The black haired girl was lost in thought as she continued to look forward as Suhyeok continued to rub her wrist in circulation motion with his thumb. After a few minutes of comforting Areum, Suhyeok took a quick glance over at Cheongsan, who was cautiously watching them as well as Namra and Wujin.

“Suhyeok-ah.” Areum quietly called his name as she stared at him. After hearing the black haired girl call him, the tall boy turned his head to her and hummed in response. “Can I ask you a favor?”  

“No. You’re not going to turn.” Suhyeok argued as he looked at her brown eyes, which were filled with tears.

“Please? Can I ask you to do a favor for me?” Areum begged as tears started to flow down on her face. “Tell my grandparents and my mom that I love them. And that I’m sorry for not being able to stay alive for them.”

“Yah! You’re going to be fine, Areum-ah. You’re going to tell them yourself instead of me.” Suhyeok reassured her as he rubbed her back using the hand that supported her.

“What if I’m not? I’m going to turn into a zombie and then, I’ll forget about my mom, my grandparents…even you. I don’t want that to happen.” The black haired girl uttered as tears kept coming from her eyes.

“You’re not going to turn. I’ll make sure of it. So, don’t cry. You’re still the Areum that I know. Okay?” Suhyeok comforted her as he stared at her beautiful brown eyes. Then, the tall boy released her wrist as he lifted his right hand toward her face, gently wiping her tears away using his thumb.

***********

During the same moment Areum and Suhyeok started to talk with each other at the window, Onjo went to reach her childhood friend, who was still remained on his spot and watched closely over Areum and Namra 

“That’s enough. Areum and Namra should’ve turned by now.” Onjo mentioned after approaching Cheongsan and stared at Cheongsan’s hard expression.

“Not yet.” Cheongsan stubbornly insisted.

“They were bitten by Gwinam, so she should be fine.” The white hoodie girl tried to lessen the tense atmosphere around them. 

“He was bitten by zombies.” The boy with the school vest stated, not even turned his attention from Areum and Namra. 

“Suhyeok and Wujin said he wasn’t a zombie.” Onjo muttered, making her childhood friend glanced at her in disbelief. Not believing that Onjo does not trust what he had told them.

“I saw it with my own eyes.” Cheongsan remarked.

“They had no reason to lie to us.” Onjo argued.

“And you’re telling me that I do?” Cheongsan questioned with a disinterested look.

“Still, Suhyeok was saying-” Onjo tried to explain to the stubborn boy.

“I know you like him, but this is a different matter.” Cheongsan harshly stated toward the white hoodie girl. Once he was done talking to her, Cheongsan returned his gaze toward the two intelligent duo girls.

“Why would you bring that up?” Onjo questioned as she frowned her eyebrows, making the boy holding the music stand turn his focus toward the white hoodie girl.

“It’s because you always take his side.” Cheongsan replied. Onjo was flustered when she heard his response as she blinked her eyes away from the boy in front of her.

“I don’t do that.” Onjo defended herself.

“Yes, you do.” The boy holding the music stand remarked. He glared at her before returning his focus toward the four students in front of him. Blinking her eyes away from Cheongsan, Onjo averted her eyes toward Areum as her tears flowed down her face while Suhyeok wiped her tears with care. The white hoodie girl watched with sadness as she could clearly see Areum was scared for her life, even Namra’s.

***********

Feeling quite exhausted after letting out her tears, Areum leaned her head against the window frame as the wind from outside of the building blew her black hair. The black haired girl looked down at her left hand when she felt her hand begin to twitch on its own and her bones started to make some quiet crunching sound.

Trying to control the twitching of her left hand, Areum’s left jaw began to turn red as veins slowly became visible. Her vision also appeared to look different when she looked around her surroundings. Once her vision locked at Suhyeok’s side profile, Areum attentively stared at the tall boy’s neck as she smelled the mouth-watering scent coming from him filling her nose.

“Suhyeok-ah. Suhyeok-ah.” Areum unconsciously called in her mind as she leaned closer to the boy she likes. “I feel weird and I’m really hungry.”

“Why do you smell so good?” Areum unconsciously thought as the redness on her jaw and veins become more visible to see. 

Feeling consciously aware that Areum was staring at him, Suhyeok turned his head to look over the black haired girl, only to watch in surprise that her left jaw was covered in red color and veins noticeably seen. 

“Rumnie-yah.” Suhyeok called Areum using her nickname as he cupped her face on both of his hands, trying to get the girl in front of him aware of her current state. Letting out a small growl from her mouth, Areum hurriedly pulled Suhyeok closer to her by his shoulders, making the tall boy release her face in the process. Fortunately, before the black haired girl was able to bite him, Areum gasped in shock once she gained control over her unconscious action.

“Suhyeok-ah!” Cheongsan yelled when he spotted Areum grabbed Suhyeok by his shoulders. The boy in the green vest quickly ran to save his close friend from being bitten as he swung the music stand toward the beauty. 

Spotting Cheongsan through the corner of his eyes, Suhyeok shifted his body in front of Areum, protecting her from being hit from the strong swing of the music stand. Areum winced in startled when she heard the loud crash of the metal stand colliding against Suhyeok’s back.

“Get out of the way!” Cheongsan shouted as he held the broken music stand in front of him, ready to attack Areum, who was panting with her head down after being able to control her unconscious action. Both Namra and Wujin instantly stood from their seats with worry after witnessing the commotion from where they were seated.

“Don’t do it.” Suhyeok warned, still protecting Areum with his whole body as he turned his head toward Cheongsan’s direction.   

“Move away now!” Cheongsan yelled as he stared at Areum in defense. No longer able to control his anger, Suhyeok charged toward his close friend, grabbing his collar shirt in the process and pushed him on top of the nearby table.

“I said to stop it, you fucker!” Suhyeok sternly reminded his close friend. The tall boy lifted his fist as he prepared to punch the boy in the green vest. 

“Stupid asshole!” Cheongsan cursed as he punched Suhyeok in anger. The two close friends began to fight each other, which caused the rest of the friend group to astound. 

After Suhyeok leaving Areum’s side, the black haired girl was feeling dizzy after gaining control over her own consciousness. The beauty then moved away from the window ledge and slid against the hard wall as she tried to ignore the loud noise from the fighting boys. Namra instantly went beside her close friend to check her condition as Wujin followed behind her.

Suhyeok managed to push Cheongsan away from him to the floor, making the both of them fall from the table. When the tall boy tried to reach Cheongsan a few feets away from him, Daesu restrained him away from the boy on the floor while Joonyeong hurriedly went to block the sliding door from being opened by the zombies.

“Hey. Hey. Hey. Cut it out. Stop it already!” Daesu yelled as he restrained Suhyeok by holding onto his torso.

“Let go! Let go of me!” Suhyeok yelled in anger as he tried to stop Cheongsan from reaching Areum.

“They’re going to come in!” Joonyeong announced through the loud chaos while keeping the sliding door closed with the zombies banging their fists on it.

When the boy in the green vest saw Suhyeok was being restrained by Daesu, Cheongsan took the opportunity as he got up from the floor and hurriedly grabbed the metal stand and rushed toward Areum. However, his pathway was blocked by Onjo, who was standing in front of Areum, Namra and Wujin.

“Don’t do it.” Onjo yelled as she stood in front of the defenseless girl with her arms spread out. Once Suhyeok was able to release himself free from Daesu’s strong restraint, the tall boy stormed his way to the Cheongsan and stopped the boy from attacking the girl he likes by wrapping his hands around the defensive boy from behind.

“Get out of my way! Let go of me!” Cheongsan screamed as he tried to free himself out of Suhyeok’s constrained grip. 

“Stop it. Are you blind? Can’t you see Areum? She would have blood on her mouth if she bit him.” Onjo announced as she scowled at her childhood friend. Both of the two male students looked at Areum, who closed her eyes as she breathed heavily. Suhyeok felt gratitude when he saw both the class president and Areum’s cousin were beside her. 

“Did you see it? Is he bleeding, No, right?” Onjo asked as she tried to make Cheongsan realised that Areum was not dangerous to any of them.

“It’s true. There’s no wound on him.” Daesu mentioned as he checked on Suhyeok’s state.

“But if Gwinam bit her and Prez-” Cheongsan explained as he was still in doubt with the whole situation.

“She’s still fine and so is Namra. Which means you’ll be fine.” Onjo informed as her eyes shifted toward the metal stand that he gripped in his hand. 

“Come on, put that down. Stop being stubborn.” The white hoodie girl ordered. When the boy in green vest was unable to move away from Suhyeok’s tight restraints, Cheongsan sneaked a quick glance as he uttered to his close friend. 

“Let go. I got it, so let go. Fuck.” Cheongsan uttered as he moved away from Suhyeok.

“Why won’t you drop that?” Onjo questioned as she continued to stare at the metal stand on his hand.

“It’s none of your business.” Cheongsan muttered as he glanced over at the two female students near the window. Standing a few meters away from Cheongsan, Suhyeok checked for any blood when he placed his hand on his neck. Once he saw there was no blood on his hand, the tall boy sighed in relief when he remembered that he watched Areum gasping in surprise after pulling him earlier.

The white hoodie girl then went to approach Areum, who was lost in her own thoughts after trying to bite the boy she likes. Crouching beside the black haired girl, Onjo examined her bite mark on her left shoulder before glancing her eyes to the beauty.

“Are you okay?” Onjo whispered.

“I’m not fine…but why are taking my side after witnessing I’ve try to bite Suhyeok?” Areum questioned in a cold manner as her eyes stared ahead of her.

“What?” The white hoodie asked in confusion.

“You know how dangerous a zombie can be. Why would you defend me?” Areum whispered as she shifted her eyes to Onjo.

“It’s because you can control your actions after you decide not to bite him.” Onjo replied as Areum turned her face away from the white hoodie girl. Seeing the black haired girl turned away from her, Onjo stood from her crouch position.

“They seem fine. Let’s…” Daesu uttered as he watched Areum sitting on the floor while Namra and Wujin were standing beside the beauty girl.

“They would’ve turned by now.” Joonyeong agreed as he stood beside the plump boy after the zombies calmed down from banging on the door. 

“No.” Areum announced as she stood up from the cold floor, causing Suhyeok to instantly stare at her. “I’m not okay. I really wanted to bite Suhyeok.” She added.

“That’s not true.” Suhyeok argued as he reassured his friends. Returning his gaze to the girl he likes, Suhyeok continued to talk with her as he stared at her brown eyes. “Stop that. You stopped when you realised what you’re doing, Areum-ah.”

“No, I really wanted to bite you before I realised what I’m doing.” Areum confessed to Suhyeok as she avoided her eyes from the tall boy.

“What do you mean by that?” Cheongsan asked in curiosity.

“That’s all. I wanted to bite him because my mind kept telling me that I’m hungry. I’ve tried to fight…but I can’t. Until Suhyeok called me.” Areum confessed as some of the other students looked in sadness at the struggle the black haired girl faced.

“I don’t think I should stay with you guys. If I hadn’t come to my senses, I would’ve bitten him. Or even worse, I’ll start attacking all of you.” The black haired girl continued as eyes remained avoiding the tall boy.

“Yah, Areum-ah. Stop that. What’s wrong with you?” Suhyeok begged as he stared at her from where he stood. Areum heard Daesu sighed at the back of the group of friends.

“I’ll go.” Areum informed as she started to walk from her position.

“I’m coming with you too. I also got bit, so we should go together.” Namra voiced her opinion to the rest of the group, making Wujin want to protest to both of the female students. Unfortunately, Wujin could not object when Onjo interrupted him.

“Please wait. Did you see Gwinam get bitten by zombies?” Onjo questioned Cheongsan once she turned to look at him.

“Yes. How many times must I tell you?” Cheongsan answered in annoyance.

“Did you see him turn?” The white hoodies inquired.

“No, I didn’t.” The boy in the green vest answered as he averted his eyes away from Onjo. “I was busy running away.”

“Suhyeok-ah, Wujin-ah, you guys fought Gwinam, right?” Onjo asked as her eyes shifted toward the two mentioned boys. 

“Yes, I did.” Suhyeok answered while Wujin nodded his head as a response. 

“There’s no reason for either three of you to lie. Maybe Gwinam was bitten but didn’t turn. In the movies, there are people who are immune, remember?” The white hoodie girl explained toward her friends.

“Still, she tried to bite him. She could have bitten him. Regardless, both of them aren’t normal. So, I’m not going with them.” Jimin coldly stated as she glared at Areum and Namra. Overheard her friend’s cold statement, Areum closed her brown eyes as she tried to stop her tears from coming to her eyes.

“Jimin-ah.” Onjo warned as she stared at the girl.

“What? Are you saying I’m wrong?” The girl in the green vest questioned in disagreement.

“I don’t know.” The white hoodie girl replied in defeat as she lowered her eyes away. “I really don’t know what we should do.” The white hoodie girl continued.

“So? What do you want us to do? We can’t keep pretending that they’re fine. Especially after Areum wanted to bite Suhyeok.” Jimin demanded.

“That’s enough.” Areum voiced with exhaustion laced in her voice. “Please don’t fight.” She continued as the black haired girl altered her brown eyes at Jimin’s direction.

“If we leave, it’ll solve everything right?” The beauty rhetorically asked. Without waiting for their answers, Areum glanced over at her close friend as both girls nodded their heads to each other at their silent agreement. Areum strode her way toward the door as Namra followed her lead. However, the class president was stopped when she felt Wujin grasping her wrist.

When Areum strode toward the front door, the black haired girl quickly glanced over at Onjo before passing her and continued her journey to the sliding door. Halfway through the distance to the front door, Onjo quickly rushed after Areum to stop her after she spotted Wujin managed to stop Namra’s movement. Not far from the white hoodie girl, Suhyeok was also trailing after the girl he likes to prevent her from leaving the room.

Once the white hoodie girl was able to reach her friend, Onjo clasped both of her hands on Areum’s right arm to stop her from going further to the front entrance. Areum quickly turned her whole body around as she tried to get her right arm out of Onjo’s tight grasp.

“Don’t go. Where would you go?” The white hoodie girl questioned as both of the girls were in a push and pull motion. Onjo was trying to keep her hands on her friend’s arm from going while Areum was trying to pull her arm from Onjo’s tight hold. “Stop it. Please.” Onjo begged.

Seeing the struggle in Onjo’s face, Areum stopped her movement as she stared at the girl in front of her with a cold stare. “Let’s not let anyone else die.” Onjo pleaded as her eyes looked down when she held onto Areum’s right hand. Areum remained frozen at her spot as she breathed shakily and watched the girl in front of her.

“Hyeoju and Isak’s hands were very cold before they turned.” Onjo informed as she lifted her eyes to look at her friend. Then, the white hoodie girl turned to face the rest of the student bodies to convince them to let both Areum and Namra stay in the room. “Areum’s hands are warm and I believe that Namra’s hands are also warm. Am I right, Wujin?”

“Yes, you’re right, Namra’s hands are warm.” Wujin answered when Onjo asked him a question about Namra’s well-being.

“They’re not zombies. So, cut it out and let’s talk about how to get to the roof.” Onjo continued as she looked at everyone’s expressions.

“No. I don’t want to.” Jimin asserted with hatred laced in her voice.

“Jimin!” Onjo yelled in a stern tone as the white hoodie girl scowled at the girl’s attitude.

“No way!” The girl in the green vest remarked. “They may be fine now, but who knows when they’ll turn? Especially Areum after her showing some symptoms like a zombie,” Jimin added.

“Hey! Stop that.” Suhyeok warned as he stared at her in anger. Ignoring the tall boy’s warning and stare, the girl in the green vest continued to speak.

“The rest of you say something. This is wrong. The class vice prez said so herself that she wanted to bite him.” Jimin retorted. Glancing to her friends for their support, Jimin was frustrated when none of them spoke up about their current situation. 

“Both of them had zombie blood in their veins! Zombies killed my mom and dad. My innocent mom…” Jimin trailed when she remembered seeing her parents becoming zombies from the drone’s camera earlier.

Once the girl in the green vest finished her talk, Suhyeok turned around to look for something in the room. Spotting the two red curtain ropes on the floor near the door entrance, Suhyeok quickly went to grab them from the floor. 

“Wujin-ah. Come here. Bring Namra along with you.” Suhyeok called while he walked toward Areum. Following Suhyeok’s instruction, Wujin and Namra strode their way toward Suhyeok.

Handing one of the red curtain ropes to Wujin, the two boys had a silent discussion about what to do with the red curtain ropes. Nodding his head in understanding, Wujin turned his whole body to Namra before asking for her left hand.

“Rumnie-yah.” Suhyeok called as Onjo turned to look at them. The tall boy lifted her right hand before wrapping the red curtain rope around her wrist. 

“Give me your hand.” He muttered as he started to tie a knot around her hand. Lifting her face to glance over Suhyeok, Areum watched in confusion as Suhyeok was so focused on tying her wrist. 

“What are you doing?” Areum asked, frowning her eyebrows in confusion after watched Suhyeok tying her wrist with the curtain rope.

“Tying our hands together.” Suhyeok replied as he tied his wrist at the end of the red curtain rope. Once the beauty heard his reply, Areum instantly tried to lose the knot of the rope before the tall boy was done tying their hands together.

“Stop it. Stop.” Areum uttered as she tried to lose the knot of the rope using her other hand. In an instant, Suhyeok held her hand as he stared at her brown eyes, making the black haired girl in front of him grunted in frustration as she pulled her hand free from his grasp and glared into his black eyes. Not aware of a pair of eyes observing them, Onjo watched with dejectful when she became aware of Suhyeok’s true feelings for Areum.

“Stop it.” Suhyeok gently pleaded after he saw Areum was trying to pull the knot of the red curtain rope. Once he was sure the black haired girl was no longer trying to pull the knot, Suhyeok continued to tie the red rope on his hand. After securing the knot on both of their hands, the tall boy showed their tied hands toward Jimin.

“Happy? This way, she can’t get to you if she turns.” Suhyeok mentioned.

“And neither does Namra. She’ll stay by my side.” Wujin added as he looked over at Jimin.

“We’ll get bitten instead.” The tall boy informed them with a serious tone as he stared at Jimin with a hard look. 

When the black haired girl listened to the two boys, Areum made eye contact with Namra with a worried expression. Namra knew very well that her close friend was worried about hurting Suhyeok as well as her cousin. Averting her gaze from Areum toward the boy in front of her, Namra for the first time tried to start a conversation with people other than her close friend. 

***********

Deciding to sit away from the group of friends, Suhyeok grabbed a chair for Areum to sit before putting his seat beside the black haired girl. Both of them were facing the window that overlooks the school yard as they lost in their own thoughts. Not far from the two students, Wujin and Namra were also seated a few feet away from the pair. 

“Why are you doing this?” The class president quietly asked, sitting beside Wujin as she stared at him and waiting to hear his reply. 

“You’re Areum’s close friend. That girl really cares about you. Even when we're outside of school, she talks about you whenever she can.” Wujin replied, motioning toward his cousin, who was sitting beside Suhyeok. Namra was quite disappointed when she heard his answer and immediately averted her eyes away from him. 

“That’s also because I’ve always asked her about you.” Wujin uttered after silence started to consume around them.

“Why did you ask about me? You didn’t even say my real name. You’ve always called me ‘Prez’.” Namra questioned in confusion as she stared at his brown eyes.

“I like you, Namra.” Wujin confessed as he stared at her brown eyes, analysing her facial expression.

“I didn’t call your name because I’m afraid you’ll know that I like you. Areum knew about it and she always advised me to approach you everytime I asked her about you. She always said that once I get to know you, you’ll eventually break your cold exterior once you get to know them.” Wujin smiled when he remembered his cousin’s advice after being fed up with his numerous questions about her close friend. 

“So, I took her advice. Whenever I’ve planned to approach you, I would always cowered away at the last minute.” He chuckled in embarrassment. 

“You don’t have to give me an answer right away. Take your time. I’ll wait for you.” He added as he turned his head to look at the school yard. Unknown to the young boy, Namra turned her head away as she held a soft smile on her face after hearing his confession.

“I like you too.” Namra revealed, making Wujin quickly face the cold exterior girl. 

“I like you for quite a while now. I’m pretty sure Areum knew about this but she just kept quiet, knowing well how I couldn’t handle the teasing coming from her.” The young girl smiled as she looked at Wujin, who kept staring at her with compassion. Feeling quite brave, Namra leaned her face closer to the boy she likes and kissed him, making the young boy stunned for a moment. Few seconds later, Namra smiled into the kiss when she felt Wujin kissed her back.

***********

On the other side of the room, Onjo turned to face Cheongsan after glancing over at Suhyeok and Areum at their seats. The white hoodie girl spotted Cheongsan averted his eyes away from her once Onjo turned her attention away from the two teenagers.

“It’ll be okay.” Onjo reassured him about their current situation.

“Hey. If Areum and Prez are immune, does that mean they’re okay even if they get bitten?” Daesu asked as he rested his head on his arm that was placed on top of Joonyeong’s knees.

“Probably.” Joonyeong uttered beside the plump boy.

“Fuck. I’m so jealous.” Daesu cursed in jealousy.

“They still have zombie blood in their veins.” Jimin mentioned it to her friends.

“They aren’t completely zombies.” The plump boy argued as he glanced at the girl in the green vest. “A half-bie?” Daesu muttered as he lifted his head from his arm when he tried to come up with a specific name for Areum and Namra’s situation.

“What’s a half-bie?” Hyeryeong asked the plump boy.

“A short name for a half zombie.” Daesu answered as he returned to his earlier position.

“Aish.” The short haired girl nearly cursed her friend as she gritted her mouth from letting out some curse words.

“It’s like half and half. Like half spicy, half fried…Ah, I want to eat fried chicken.” The plump boy sighed in despair.

“That’s enough.” Hyeryeong commented after hearing the plump boy mentioning food.

“We haven’t had water for two days.” Joonyeong reminded them.

“Hey. Is it true we’ll die if we don’t have water for three days?” The plump boy asked as he lifted his head once again from his arm.

“I don’t know. Don’t talk to me. I’m also hungry.” Hyeryeong claimed.

“Then, let’s ask Areum about it. She’ll know about this.” Daesu suggested as he tried to call the class vice president but stopped when he saw Joonyeong shook his head from the corner of his eyes, an action telling the plump boy to not bother the black haired girl.

“Ah! I suddenly want that soda that we usually have on our way to school.” Daesu revealed in anguish.

“Me too. I want Hot Six with Pocari.” The boy with glasses mentioned.

“I’ll see your soda, Hot Six and Pocari and raise you an iced vanilla latte.” Daesu desperately said as he wanted all of the drinks he mentioned.

“How could you think about food with zombies right here?” Jimin scowled as she looked at the two male students near her seat.

“Stop it. Areum and Namra aren’t zombies.” Onjo warned as she looked at the girl in the green vest.

“Half-bie.” Daesu added as Hyeryeong looked at him with a weird expression.

“That’s still a zombie.” Jimin commented as she stared at Onjo.

“Jimin, let’s not do this to ourselves.” The white hoodie girl advised. “We’re all we’ve got now.”

“She’s right. Both Areum and Namra are better than Nayeon.” Hyeryeong said as she tried to convince the girl in the green vest, who was sitting beside her.

“Don’t even say her name. She’s subhuman. Gyeongsu died because of her and Ms. Park…” The girl in the green vest uttered.

“That’s right. If it weren’t for Nayeon, they’d be here with us right now.” The boy with glasses agreed.

“Wait a minute. The PTA asked the parents to send some stuff before the competition and they also asked my mom to send some chicken.” Cheongsan spoke when he remembered his mother mentioned this before he left for school.

“Chicken? We would’ve seen it if it were here.” Daesu complained as he stood from his seat, excited when mentioning about getting some food. “I don’t see anything.” He commented as he took a seat on his chair. Before he sat, the plump boy suddenly remembered the door of the supply room near where they were seated. 

“Hold on.” Deasu straightened his posture as he looked at the door of the supply room. 

“Shit. Maybe it’s in there.” The plump boy walked his way toward the door as he mumbled to himself. Before he was able to turn the door knob, Joonyeong stopped him by pulling him away from the door.

“Hey, hey!” Joonyeong called as he tried to stop the plump boy.

“What?” Daesu asked in confusion.

“We don’t know what’s in there.” The boy with glasses informed.

“We need to eat and survive first.” The plump boy argued as he turned the door knob on the supply room. Once he was unable to open the door, Daesu placed his head against the wooden door as he sighed exaggeratedly. “Shit. It’s locked.”

“It’s locked, damn it.” Joonyeong informed his other friends.

“Let’s open it.” Cheongsan suggested after joining the two boys in front of the door to the supply room. “Find something to pick the lock with.”

“Look for something. Hurry.” Daesu ordered.

When the male students had gathered something that they could pick the lock on the door knob, Daesu was the one in charge of picking the door lock. Both Cheongsan and Joonyeong watched from behind the plump boy as Daesu kept trying to pick the lock door.

“Nothing?” Joonyeong asked as Daesu groaned in frustration when he could not open the door that may contain foods and drinks for them to eat.

“Should we knock it down?” The boy with glasses recommended. 

Once the plum boy ran out his patience, Daesu banged his fist against the wooden door a couple of times, grabbing the attention of the zombies outside of the room as they growled louder. Then, the plump boy tried to open the door by using the force of his body and the kick of his foot.

Hearing the banging sound against the wooden door, the four students who sat away from the rest of the group friends, glanced over to look at the commotion behind them. Both Areum and Suhyeok frowned their eyebrows when they spotted Daesu kicking the wooden door, which also attracted the attention of the zombie with the loudness.

“What is he trying to do?” Areum whispered as she kept watching the plump boy keep kicking the door. 

“I don’t know. Maybe he tried to open the door of the supply room. Yesterday, Cheongsan had mentioned that his mother would be donating for the upcoming competition.” Suhyeok replied as he shifted his eyes to Areum. The black haired girl nodded her head as she listened to the boy who was sitting beside her.

“If he keeps doing that, he’ll attract the zombies with the loud noise.” Areum sighed as she returned her attention back to the school yard.

Suhyeok watched the girl sitting beside him as Areum was playing with the end of her cardigan sleeve as she looked to the school yard, trying to ignore the commotion behind her. Knowing well of her small action, Suhyeok could observe that Areum was anxious about her earlier incident.

Trying to calm her down, the tall boy grasped her hand in his as he rubbed her knuckled in circulation motions using his thumb. Areum glanced over at the tall boy when she felt her hand was grasped into his hand as he tried to help calm her down with a simple gesture. 

“I know you’re feeling bad after the earlier incident. Don’t be. It’s not your fault, Areum-ah.” Suhyeok comforted the beauty as he stared at her brown eyes.

“But what if I really try to bite you? If that happens, I’ll never forgive myself.” Areum whispered as she stared at his black eyes with guilt in her eyes.

“But you didn’t. You’ve stopped yourself before biting onto me. I can see that when I was standing in front of you, Areum-ah.” Suhyeok mentioned as he saw her eyes filled with tears. “So, don’t blame yourself because of this, okay?” He continued as tears began to fall from her eyes.

“Promise me that you’ll tell me whenever you feel different. Okay?” Suhyeok pleaded as he placed her loose hair behind her ears. Given the tall boy a response, Areum nodded her head to seal their promise. The tall boy smiled when he saw her nodding her head as he wiped her tears from her beautiful face using his thumb. 

Overheard the music playing on the video camera, both Areum and Suhyeok ignored them as the blacked haired girl rested her head against Suhyeok’s shoulder and continued to watch the view on their school yard. While the rest of the group friends turned to look for the source of sound. Once they managed to find the source of the sound, they saw Jimin leaned her body against the table and was playing a video on the video camera.

“Don’t play any music either.” Hyeryeong instructed her friend after ordering the plump boy to stop making the loud banging sound against the wooden door. For once, Jimin obeyed her friend's instruction as she stopped the video on the recorder. 

When the girl in the green vest came up with an idea, Jimin flipped open the video as she started to record herself by telling the audience about her current situation. Pressing the recording button, Jimin started to talk to the video recorder.

“My mom and dad…came to the school to save me, but the cops and the firefighters never came.” Jimin paused as tears began to fill her eyes. “If anyone sees this later, please punish everyone who should have come. Everyone abandons us. All of them. I swear I’ll make you pay.” The young girl continued as she wiped her tears away.

Trying to hold onto her tears, Jimin looked straight to the camera lense as she continued her speech. “Mom. Dad. I’ll stay alive and get revenge. I’ll kill all of the zombies…and everyone else.” Jimin stopped as she closed the video recorder. Then, the young girl placed the video camera on the net table beside her.

Seeing the camera on top of the table glass, Hyeryeong took it and flipped it open. The short haired girl then started to record herself.

“Mom. Dad. Hello.” Hyeryeong said as she waved to the camera lens. “I’m here with some of my classmates and they’re really good to me. Let me just show you. This is them.”

The short haired girl turned the angle of the camera to her friends. All of them bowed to the camera as a sign of respect. Then, she returned the angle of the camera to herself. 

“Uh…Um..Mom, Dad. I miss you.” Hyeryeong chuckled as she tried to hold her cry. “I miss you both. And, um…I’m so sorry.” She continued as she finally let her tears fall from her eyes.

“Um, give it to me.” Joonyeong said as he reached his hand out for the camera recorder. The short haired girl gave the recording camera to the boy with glasses. Then, one by one, every student started to leave their final message by recording themself using the video recorder.

When it was finally Onjo’s turn, the white hoodie girl left a message for her only family member which was her father.

“Hi, Dad. You’re okay, right? I waited for you all night but you didn’t come, so we’re trying our best to hang on. You said being healthy is the best even if I don’t get good grades. You said you’d be the first to come if anything ever happened. You’re okay, right?” Onjo said as she maintained her eyes to the camera lens.

“You have to be okay, Dad. You don’t have to come save me. But still, I wish you’d come. I really thought you would come.” The white hoodie girl cried.

Taking a long breath, Onjo continued to speak, “But I’m okay. Usually, I only say this when you give me my allowance, but I’ll say it for free today.”

“Dad. I love you. I love you very much.” Onjo cried as she looked at the camera lens while giving a heart shaped finger.

***********

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