𝐢𝐱. 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤

Cha Hyunsoo wiped for the last time the blood from the girl's forehead, throwing dirty tissue on the side, where already laid others tissues. The boy looked at Soojin, pursing his lips. Even if he knew that she just passed out, he needed to check if the blood, for sure, flows in her veins. He rolled a sleeve of her hoodie a bit, putting two fingers on her wrist. He felt the pulse.
    But then he also noticed light lines on the girl's skin. When he rolled the sleeve more, there were also more scars. Hyunsoo felt a weird feeling in his stomach. He looked at his arms, and then at the girl's. The boy stroked her wrist, and put the sleeve down. He ran through his hair with fingers.

Soojin opened her eyes slowly, trying to get used to the light. She didn't say anything or didn't make any move. She tried to remember what happened. She squeezed her eyes and opened them again.

"Am I in heaven?" she murmured

Hyunsoo heard her voice, and so did others. He put his hand on her arm, and bent over her.

"Soojin"

"Oh no, it's hell," giggled the girl seeing the boy's face above her

Hyunsoo smirked, but he felt big relief. Soojin tried to sit on the bed, but she felt really dizzy and the view in front her was rolling around, so she fell again on the mattress.

"Shit, did I pass out? That's embarrassing"

Hyunsoo helped her sat on the bed, "I passed out..."

"And it was embarrassing. You drool when you sleep"

That was a lie, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked, remembering about others, "Kids..."

"They are alright," Hyunsoo pointed at kids, who lean out behind Dusik, and they waved to girl, who smiled to them, "Jisu is making food, and Jaeheon was the one to defeat monster"

Soojin looked a bit confused, "Jisu, Jaeheon" she murmured the names, scared that she's gonna forget it after a second

The man sitting at the table pulled out his hand to the girl, "I'm Jaeheon"

The girl shook it, squinting her eyes, "Oh right, I didn't recognise you without the glasses. I'm Soojin" she smiled

The young girl, maybe even the same age as her, put the rice on the table. She had cool pink highlights in her hair.

"And Jisu," repeated Soojin, looking at her, "Sorry, I just have this dizzying pain in head, so I can sometimes need more time to proceed the words"

"Do you want anything?" asked Dusik, "Soda, water?"

The girl was confused at first when she looked at the table where were sitting other people. She needed a second to realise that the question was to her.

"Oh, water would be cool," she murmured

Hyunsoo rushed to get the girl water. He took a cup and fill it as fast as he could. He came back to the girl, passing it to her.

She drank it so quickly, like if she wasn't drinking in many years. She sighed, giving the cup back to the boy, "Thank you"

"You got lucky that you woke up for dinner," said Jisu sitting at the table, and joked, "We are serving rice with rice. And if you get lucky, you can also get rice from microwave"

Soojin smiled amused. She got up on her legs, without falling back on bed, so that was something. She went to sit between Dusik and Hyunsoo. Actually, beside rice, on the table you could find other things.

"Let's all dig in," said Dusik, "Eat up"

Soojins took her chopsticks. It was such a good feeling, food after all these fights, like a reward. She could tell that her body's gonna be covered in a lot of bruises. Jaeheon said a quiet prayer.

"Kids, why don't you tell us your names?" suggested Dusik

The sibling turned their heads to him.

"Kim Yeongsu," the boy was the first to speak

"Kim Suyeong"

"Kim Yeongsu, Kim Suyeong?" repeated the man surprised, and Soojin couldn't stop the smile, "Yeongsu and Suyeong. They are almost the same" No one said anything. The man sighed, "I guess, your parents gave you those names, so you would always stick together, Su-yeong-su, hm?" he smiled

"Well," the girl put down her spoon, "Dad named us both"

"Dad..." the boy's lip trembled

Soojin stopped smiling. The woman with the trolley stroked his head, and hugged him. The girl didn't even ask how the hell is she alive. Maybe she's also infected?

She put a piece of meat to boy's rice. He turned to her, "Thank you"

Then Dusik remembered something. He turned around to the small refrigerator, and took out two cans. He opened one and handed it to Jaeheon. It was beer.

"Oh no, it's okay. I don't drink very often"

Jisu took the can, drinking from it, like Soojin drank water. So she was older than her. When she put the empty can on the table, she exhaled loudly.

"You sure know how to drink, huh?" Dusik opened another can, "Here, have one"

Soojin took the can, ready to drink, but apparently Hyunsoo had something to say.

"Oh no, I'm..."

"Oh, you must be underaged. I see. There are kids. We shouldn't break the law in front of them," said Dusik. They both looked at Soojin, who clenched her jaw. She put the can on the table, "I'll buy you a drink when you're an adult. How does it sound?"

He smiled, and took a sip from the can. Hyunsoo looked down at the table

"Do you think... I will be?" said the boy

Soojin also looked down, "Hyunsoo..."

That was sad what he said, but he didn't needed to say that. The girl wasn't irritated because of that, more because of the fact that he could be right. Who knows if any person in this room will live to next birthdays.

Soojin tapped him on the hand that he was holding under the table, and took her food. She noticed a case shaped like a guitar.

"You play?" she looked at Jisu, guessing that it's her. The girl nodded her head with a smile, "Oh, I heard you a few times. You have talent"

"Thank you"

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

In the night they took night shift, turning every thirty minutes. Jisu, who was taking a shift at the moment, poked Hyunsoo with her bat. He murmured something, and twisted on the other side.

"Ya, it's your turn," the girl poked him again

The boy opened his eyes confused, "Huh?"

"It's your turn to guard the door"

He stood up, taking his spear in hand. Jisu sat down, leaning on the wall.

"I'm infected" said Hyunsoo, standing in front the doors

"I know"

"If I turn," he continued, "just kill me"

The girl didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Then what about her?" she asked

Hyunsoo turned to Jisu confused.

"What?"

The girl looked at Soojin, sleeping across the room, with her head tilted on the arm.

"What about her?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hyunsoo, looking at the brunette, "I'm not saying to kill her, just me. Even if she's infected, don't kill her"

"She cares about you," said Jisu, "What if you turn in front her? I'm not gonna be the girl who killed another's girl boyfriend on her eyes"

"She's not my girlfriend," murmured the boy

Jisu looked at him surprised, "She's not? I really thought she is. Sorry. I never saw somebody ran so fast to a random girl"

Hyunsoo pursed his lips, "She's not a random girl either. She is a friend"

Jisu shrugged. The boy looked at Soojin, and then he turned to the doors.

"Just promise me that you're gonna kill me if I turn," he said

"Only if you kill me, if I turn"

After twenty minutes, Hyunsoo walked to sleeping Soojin, and tapped her arm trying to wake her up. Then he did that again, but harder, because the girl was still sleeping.

"It's my turn?" she asked, when she finally opened her eyes

Hyunsoo nodded his head. The girl stood up, looking around for her machete. The boy handed it to her.

"Thanks," she murmured, "Get some rest"

She walked to the door, and the boy sat down on the ground. The girl waited only a few minutes, before she started looking for something in her backpack. After she found what she wanted, she left the apartment, trying not to wake up anyone. But one person didn't even fall asleep yet.

The girl closed the door behind. She put on her boots that she took in hands, and she opened a pack of cigarettes, taking out one. Soojin put it between her lips, and then she took her green lighter.

She exhaled the smoke, breathing it through the nose. Soojin was walking around, in one hand holding a machete, in the other a cigarette. But she didn't even notice, that behind her appeared Hyunsoo. He stood there, waiting for the girl to turn around. When she finally did, she flinched scared, and gasped, as a result of which she choked on the smoke. She coughed, and at the same time she lifted her machete. Hyunsoo was trying not to laugh at her.

"Are you nuts?" she punched him on the arm, "You scared the shit out of me. I could cut your throat, because I thought you are the monster. And don't say anything depressing right now, like, that I should do that, because I'm mad at you, I don't want to feel bad"

Hyunsoo smiled softly, "Sorry"

"No, you're not, you are smiling," the girl threw the cigarette on the floor, and stomp on it with her booth, crushing it. "Besides, it's my turn now, why aren't you sleeping?"

"I just couldn't," the boy sat down, leaning on the wall. Soojin sat next to him, running through her hair with fingers, "I'm happy that you're alive," he murmured

Brunette twisted her head to him, "I'm happy that you're alive, too. I told you Hyunsoo, we make a great team," she tapped him on the knee, and smiled, "We should take a picture"

The boy looked at her and furrowed, "What?"

Soojin took out her phone from the pocket. She licked her lips, and opened the camera.

"Maybe I can't call my friends, but I can take a picture with my new one," she said smiling

She put her phone up, posing to the selfie, when Hyunsoo twisted his head to her.

"We are friends?"

Soojin stopped smiling, and lowered her hand. She looked at the boy.

"Aren't we? We fought together three monsters, that is the first step to friendship"

Hyunsoo smiled, "To be honest, most of the time we were hiding or running away"

The girl put her finger to lips, "Shhhh... It doesn't matter. I'll tell people we fought four," she raised her hand again, "Don't hide from the camera"

The boy held his head in the other direction to not look at the phone, "I don't like pictures"

Soojin lowered her hand again, and sighed. She turned to him.

"Alright, I'm not gonna force you"

She put the phone on the floor.

"It's kinda funny, because no that long time ago, I was acting like you," she chuckled, looking down, "All shy, I wasn't really talking to anyone..."

"What changed?"

"You moved to the neighborhood," the girl looked at Hyunsoo, "And I can't explain why I changed in the week. We can't both be quiet, so I have to talk for both of us. And you are the type of person, that when I'm spending time with you, I feel like I can say anything, and you won't judge me. That's a really good feeling, having someone like that"

The boy smiled a little, looking down at the floor. He didn't say anything, and because of that, Soojin felt a little embarrassed. She raised her head to notice boy's smile, so she felt a bit better.

"I'm not the biggest fan of talking about feelings, so you could appreciate that," she scoffed

Hyunsoo looked at her, "Thank you"

Soojin looked at boy's arms. He had rolled up sleeves, so she could see deep, healed scars. They were cut in different directions, crossing each other. The girl thought that she saw them before, but now she was sure about that.
Hyunsoo noticed how she is staring at his arms. He rolled down the sleeves, so the girl raised her head.

"Is it because of all of this bullying?" she asked, feeling guilty

The boy didn't answer to that, but his silence meant more. Soojin sighed and rolled up her sleeves, showing him her arms. He didn't say that he already saw them.

"I guess we both have a weird way to copy with shitty things in our life," she murmured. She touched Hyunsoo's arm, and rolled a sleeve to look at his scars

"You did that because of your father?" he asked

Soojin didn't answered. She stroked boy's arm, making him got goosebumps.

"At first, I thought about us as opposites that attract, you know, but now I think we can be more similar," the girl squeezed his hands

They sat like that for the next minutes. Finally, Soojin looked at her phone, and thirty minutes already passed a long time ago.
The girl stood up, but Hyunsoo was still sitting. She looked at him confused.

"I think...." he murmured, "We can take one picture"

The girl smiled, and sat down again next to the boy. She took out her phone, opening the camera. She pulled her arm, so they both could fit on the small screen.

"Smile!"

Soojin pointed out two fingers, up to her cheek. Hyunsoo looked at the camera and smiled softly.

The girl touched the button, and a short click meant the picture was taken.