You Make Me | Lee Eunhyuk

09

Dinner went just as expected, with uncomfortable small talk and contrasting personalities. Jiwon, though, was content with even a little moment of tranquilly. Jiwon also mentioned the first-floor survivor group, which made her brother and Jisu consider going down there for protection.

After supper, everyone dispersed across the space to sleep, and she saw herself returning to the wall that had been her source of solace for the previous several hours. Hyunsoo joined her and took a seat next to her. Jisu was getting ready to assume first watch while the two made an effort to sleep.

Jiwon remembered what Hyunsoo had said during the meal as a result of the silence. He had murmured, almost as if it meant nothing to him, "If I turn into a monster, please kill me." Yet his anxious eyes revealed his true expression.

Jisu's baseball bat skidded on the floor as she passed Jiwon and Hyunsoo, causing Hyunsoo to open his eyes. Jiwon thought that now was as good a moment as any to finally talk about the fact that she had been infected.

She turned to the boy and said in a low voice, "Hyunsoo."

"Yes?" Answering, Hyunsoo turned to face Jiwon, his motions now appearing less anxious than normal.

She stated, "I don't want to hurt anyone, so if I begin to turn into a monster, I want you to kill me."

Before responding, Hyunsoo nodded. "Same for you, kill me if I turn into a monster, please."

Despite the absurd circumstance that was occurring, she responded, "Got it.""

"Did you see yourself too?"  While turning his gaze away from the girl, Hyunsoo asked.

Jiwon was initially perplexed until realizing he must be referring to the entity she saw while experiencing a nosebleed."

"Yeah, I did. It also showed me memories I wanted to forget and offered to do it."  She laughed as she turned to face Hyunsoo. "Sounds quite good actually."

He firmly turned back to the girl and stated, "Don't listen to it. I think that's how I haven't turned into a monster yet."

"Okay, got it. Are you going to go downstairs tomorrow?" Jiwon inquired.

He replied, returning to his worried mood, "I don't know."

Jiwon gave him a pat on the back and then yawned, saying, "Hey, that's okay, don't worry about it."

She tilted her head back and adjusted herself till she felt at ease.

She muttered, "Goodnight, Hyunsoo."

He responded, "Goodnight," also laying his head back.

Jiwon was able to persuade her brother to let her sleep close to Hyunsoo since she slept quite light and would wake up right away if anything happened. Jaeheon was unaware that his younger sister had gotten infected, therefore he didn't understand at all why Jiwon was not threatened by Hyunsoo.

So, Jiwon shut her eyes and let her mind take her on a thought journey. She actually came to terms with the fact that she was dying during this time of solitude and that, in her estimation, her days were numbered unless a treatment could be discovered. As soon as she understood she was dying, she realized she wouldn't miss anybody when she was gone because she would be dead, but she would be sorry to leave behind her brother, Eunhyuk, Eun, and even her parents. Despite what her parents had done, she had hoped that one day she would recover and be able to communicate with them once more. However, it seemed that day will never come. As she pondered the imagined future that she and Eunhyuk had discussed, she noticed that her eyes were beginning to burn. Jiwon would become a well-known Kumdo champion and establish her own Martial Arts Studio while Eunhyuk would grow up and become a successful doctor. The two possessed strong wills and were adamant about achieving their goals, but at the moment, Jiwon's world was unravelling.