"Alright, let's vote, then," I announced.

~~~ 12 ~~~

"Okay," Ha-ri said. "Raise your hand if you want to leave tonight."

Min-jae, Mi-jin, and I all raised our hands.

"Alright. It's decided. We leave tonight," I said.

"But wait!" Jun-seong complained. "Ha-ri didn't vote to leave, so it's three verses three."

"No, my vote should not count. I'm the leader of this group," she replied.

"I think your vote matters as much as anyone else's," Mi-jin told her.

"I agree," I also said.

"Oh..." Ha-ri started. "Well, my vote is for leaving tonight, or tomorrow."

"Well, that's a separate problem. When do we leave?" I asked.

"I'm fine with either. Don't count my vote," Gwi-nam said. "It'll make it an odd number of votes."

"Okay," Ha-ri nodded. "Raise your hand for leaving tomorrow."

I first raised my hand, then Min-jae.

Min-jae nudged Ha-ri and asked, "Which vote are you for, Ha-ri?"

She shook her head. "I vote leaving tonight. We know that there are survivors up at the rooftop, and if we wait any longer, they could go dehydrated. We have the supplies to help them. And, another thing... My brother could be among them."

I sighed in relief.

"Oh, you're right... Well, then my vote is for leaving now," Mi-jin said as she raised her hand.

Jun-seong looked around the room, defeated. "Alright, fine... You guys win."

Everyone put their hands down.

"Grab your stuff, and meet by the back door in five minutes," I announced.

Everyone nodded at me.

I eventually noticed that Gwi-nam was uncomfortable, but I didn't know why.

I decided to talk to him. "Hey, Gwi-nam? What's wrong?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"Nothin'. Just thinking," he replied.

"Thinking about what?"

"I wanted to tell you somethin' before we had to leave this place, but I could never find the time. And even now, I can't bring myself to do it."

What?

How was I supposed to respond to that?

I didn't say anything at first, but eventually, I said, "It's alright. When you're ready to tell me, I will be listening. Okay?"

He just nodded. I realized that he had buried his face in his hands.

"We should go get our stuff. We leave in about three minutes," I continued as I got up.

I walked towards the weight room. I could hear that Gwi-nam was following me.

I walked into the weight room for one last time, and grabbed my backpack. Gwi-nam picked up his phone and knife.

"Does the phone still have power?" I asked him.

He shook his head while trying to turn it on.

Damn it.

"Wait," he started. "It's on."

I rushed over to him, carrying my bag. "Call someone, quickly!"

"I am, I am!" he started. "Wait.."

"Now what?" I asked panically.

"There's no internet."

"Try emergency call! 112," I told him.

"Alright."

He clicked the power button to turn it off and on, showing the lock screen. He then pressed the 'Emergency Call' button, and dialed 112. He put the phone on speaker.

After 20 seconds or so of the call not going through, he ended it. "Fuck!" he yelled as he threw the phone on the ground. It broke.

"They probably shut off all services. It's useless, anyway," I tried reassuring him.

Gwi-nam looked like he was about to cry.

I could tell that he was losing hope.

I pulled Gwi-nam into a hug. He immediately hugged me back.

"I'm sorry..." he finally said after a moment of silence.

"Why are you sorry?" I replied.

"I don't even know, but I just feel useless, and all of the things I've done in the past... I'm a horrible person."

I pulled away, still holding on to his arms. I looked into his eyes, even though he wouldn't look at me.

"No, don't say that. People can change. We can't lose hope," I said, trying to lighten him up.

He just shook his head and closed his eyes. "I haven't changed at all. I can only act nice near you..."

"It's progress!" I tried to reply, but Gwi-nam cut me off before I could say anything more.

"No, you don't understand! I don't even understand..." he yelled.

He eventually looked me in my eyes.

"You changed me, y/n," he continued.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words to. He just hugged me instead.

"I'm scared..." he went on, still hugging me. His voice was breaking, and he sounded like he was about to cry.

Well damn, now I'm about to cry.

A pit was forming in my stomach, and my heart began to race as we hugged.

"I don't show it, but I'm scared, too. I'm scared to lose any more friends, and I'm terrified of being the friend that others lose," I eventually replied. "And... I don't want to lose you, Gwi-nam." I pulled out of the hug as Gwi-nam looked at me.

"You... consider me a friend? After everything I've done..." he responded.

I looked away, and grabbed my backpack before saying anything. "Gwi-nam, I consider you more than a friend."

Oh god! What the hell am I thinking?!

Before the situation could get any more awkward, I walked out of the weight room to join the others. I could feel my face warming up.

Gwi-nam didn't come out for a few more minutes. I insisted that the others gave him some time.

Mi-jin walked up to me. "What did you say to him?"

"Well, not much. I think he could just be stressed out over the situation," I told her.

This was obviously a lie, but what was I supposed to say??

Thankfully for me, Mi-jin didn't read too much into it, and went back to the others.

I was kind of hoping that Gwi-nam wouldn't take it too seriously. I didn't want it to be awkward, especially since we could've been dead in ten minutes.

My face was warm, and I was embarrassed.

A few more minutes passed by, and Gwi-nam came out of the weight room. As expected, he wouldn't even look in my direction.

"Alright," Ha-ri announced. "Is everyone ready?"

After the group gave a quick confirmation back to Ha-ri, she stepped forward and pressed against the door.

"Everyone, get ready," Ha-ri announced.

~~~ End ~~~

A/n - Thank you all for reading, once again! Tips and feedback are always welcome, as this is my first book on this app. I love you all!! Have a good day :)