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Chapter 15:

"I promise." He says, willing to agree to anything if it meant protecting his sister.

Hours later, it had now become morning. I could see the sun start to rise from the cracks in the barricaded entryway. Unlike other residents, who all found themselves corners and fallen asleep, I couldn't bring myself to do so. I was too scared. Instead, I sat in the hallway, mindlessly flipping through the photos that I had grabbed from my grandfather's apartment.

It was in the early hours of the morning, around 7 am when I had decided to take a walk down the empty hallways. I was getting tired but was too afraid to sleep. Afraid that something would happen if I did.

It was silent all around. The only sound I could hear was the snoring residents down the hall. So when I heard something fall in another dark hallway, I instantly tensed up with fear. The sound was soon followed by footsteps coming from what I thought to be a janitor's room.

Quickly, I spin around, about to rush back down the hall that I came from. Only, I bump into someone. Looking up, I lock eyes with Eun-hyuk. He looked down at me in confusion, whereas I was still panicking about whatever was coming our way. As far as I knew, I had been the only person awake, now along with Eun-hyuk. Grabbing his hand, I turn down the next hallway, before pulling him to hide behind a stack of boxes.

"What's going on?" He asks, but I quickly shushed him, not wanting to make any noises. 

"Shhh. I heard something." I mutter, looking down the dark hallway.

My heart is pounding in my chest as I imagine the monster from yesterday walking the halls of the building. I don't even notice the dripping from my nose until Eun-hyuk takes a cautious step away from me.

It is then that I raise my hand to my face, feeling the blood running from my nose. He must think I'm infected. After all, the emergency alert said to quarantine anyone infected with a nosebleed.

"I promise you. It's not what you think." I quickly start to ramble.  

"I have a condition, this happens all of the time. You can ask my grandfather, he lives in room 807 on floo-" I quickly add on before stopping. Realizing what I had just said, I get reminded that my grandfather is dead.

Eun-hyuk's face of unease turns to one of pity, even a small hint of understanding,  as he too realizes what I had just said. Footsteps walking up to us, cause me to flinch in fear, as EUn-hyuk quickly pulls a cloth from his pocket before stepping close to me.

I hold my breath as he quickly uses the cloth, cleaning the blood that had dripped from my nose. Being so close together, I could feel his breath fanning across my face as he worked to clean my face.

"What are you two doing?" Says a voice, the footsteps stopping just before us now. Pulling away, Eun-hyuk turns around, revealing the person to be the girl from yesterday, his sister.

"Ah, Eun-yoo. I didn't realize that you were awake yet. What are you doing up?" Eun-hyuk says as he discreetly drops the now bloodied cloth into the shadows behind us.

"I could ask you the same thing." The girl, Eun-yoo, responds before turning her gaze to me. She had an intense gaze, almost as if she was scrutinizing me. "Who's this? Did you have a secret girlfriend and not tell me?" She questions, taking her eyes off of me now. I felt a wave of relief as if her gaze would have crushed me into dust at any moment.