A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

43: Close at Heart

"She was a gentle child. Full of love for the world. Everything mesmerized her and I often believed that it was her first life. She was a new soul that would experience everything for the first time. My wife said we would have to work harder to keep her from away from bad people, from precarious situations. Isn't that what life is about, though? You pass down your experiences and hope that when they are faced with such a reality, that they choose to make good decisions. I mean, it's not to make us parents feel better, but to steer them away from negatively altering situations and lasting trauma. You want the best for you kid but you can only do so much."

Mara tiredly nodded, staring over the trees and blinking profusely to try and stay awake.

"When I lost her, too, I wondered if maybe it was my fault. If I had manned up and been there for my wife when we lost our child, maybe she wouldn't have-"

Mara held Jin's hand, shaking her head and frowning at him. His teary eyes bore tragedy, projecting the decade's worth of misery. At the loss of both his child and wife, he lived everyday with the pain and regret of being the last one alive.

"Sorry to be trauma dumping," Jin sadly chuckled, "Nights like these feel so bittersweet."

Mara nodded, still holding his hand and further intertwining their fingers. Jin smiled to himself, clasping his other hand over theirs.

"It feels like I've been given a second chance. And I don't mean that to put pressure on you or make you feel like you have to fill someone's shoes," Jin softly spoke, "I just mean that I want to take care of you and don't want to fail you as a protector."

Mara bit her lip, frowning to herself as his words sunk in. She parted her lips, about to speak, and Jin watched her expectantly. When she didn't say anything and simply smiled, Jin sighed.

"You haven't spoken in two weeks. I really thought tonight was the night," he pouted.

Mara snorted, shrugging.

You have not failed me, Jin.

For the first time since Mara's arrival, she had been assigned to night watch. At first, it seemed like an easy task, one in which the night would pass quickly and the uneventful forest would prove a good companion. However, Mara underestimated how slow time could be, and every passing hour felt like an eternity. Not only that, but the sounds of swaying branches and the wind that carded through leaves was beckoning her to sleep. Jin offered to be there on the first night, hoping to guide her on what it really meant to watch over their camp as everyone dived into vulnerable sleep.

Mara thinks her first mistake was bringing such a soft and...heavy blanket that...could easily...easily put her to-

"Wake up, Mara," Jin chuckled, ruffling her hair. She was bundled in her heavy blanket and in warm coats and socks that it was hard to say no to even a blink of sleep. With Jin's hand in her hair, it only made her all the more sleepy.

"Mhm," she hummed.

"I got you to make a sound. I'll be proud of that for the whole day," Jin fondly mumbled.

She nodded, a small smile on her face as she looked over the darkness of the forest. They'd checked in with Jungkook through the walkie every now and then, with Mara refusing to speak and forcing Jin to do it for her.

"You'll have to speak sooner or later," Jin had said, disappointment in his eyes as he radioed over to Jungkook. The latter didn't seem to happy for someone other than her to answer, and thus his responses were curt. Jin seemed to notice this too, and he glanced at Mara's distanced frown with concern.