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Chapter 29:

Marriage. Why was Eunyu talking about marriage all of a sudden? Sure I might have a crush on her brother, but I was nowhere near ready to think about marriage. That would be years down the line. That is if we even survive the next few years. Let alone the next few months.

Eunhyuk speaking breaks me from my thoughts. I push Eunyu's absurd thoughts to the furthest corner of my mind. 

"To protect everyone's privacy, it must be a secret ballot. Because expelling him... would be like taking part in murder." He says.

At this, the tension in the air grows thick. All of the residents look at one another, unsure of what to believe. But Eunhyuk was right. If it was decided to throw the infected boy outside to the. monsters, they would regret it later on. The boy had done nothing wrong. He wasn't like those monsters outside. At least not yet.

"Privacy, who need that? Everyone put your hands up. I want him out. It's not murder. We're doing this to survive. Don't be scared." The old man begins to yell.

"You, put your hands up. Do it now!" He yells at his wife.

"I think Eunhyuk has a point." Says one of the female residents. "isn't it better to protect the privacy of your votes? Last time I checked, we still live in a democracy.  And stop calling your wife names and using profanities. It's offensive and there are young adults here who shouldn't be hearing that kind of language." She continued to say while gesturing to the corner I was standing in. 

Near me were Eunhyuk, Eunyu, and a girl who had come down from the apartments when the boy fell from the stairs. She carried a baseball bat with her and seemed tough. But she still looked young, maybe just a year or two older than Eunhyuk and I.

"You cow. How dare you say this to me. Do you think I care about those people? Young people are so rude to talk back to me, their elder. Why should I care about using profanities around them? And I'll speak to my wife how I please." The old man yells, raising his hand at the woman.

"Stop it." I hear from the far corner of the daycare. I looked around Eunyu, seeing that Yi-Kyung was the one to have spoken.

"Let's just start the voting," Eunhyuk says. "I'll go first." He says. He turns to lean over the table, using one of the red pencils to scribble on a piece of paper. He then quickly puts the paper into the empty box before turning to face the rest of the room.

"Whose next." He says.

Half an hour later, the votes had been completed. Eunhyuk asked me to read off each ballod, as he kept a score on the chalkboard that hung on the wall behind us.

So far the score was eight to seven.

"Eight of us voted yes, and seven voted no. If one of the last two ballots is in favor, he'll be kicked out." Eunhyuk says.

Upon saying this, the old man runs up, ripping the paper votes from my hands as he counts them on his own. "Seven votes no? Are you all crazy?!" He yells angrily.

I reach back into the box on the table. There were only 2 votes left. I grabbed ahold of one and pulled it out. "It's opposed," I say, handing the paper to Eunhyukk.

"The score is now eight to eight." He says before turning to write the new score on the chalkboard.

"It was you, wasn't it." The old man asks his wife. She quickly defends herself, saying it wasn't her.

The old man turns to face the corner I was in, looking at us young adults now. "You bitches and bastards. You're all on his side, aren't you? You should all be thrown out." He says before turning to me.

"Especially you. You could be rigging the votes. You're lying. You made up the results." He proclaims.

"How could I fordge the votes? You watched everyone vote on their own." I defend myself.

"He should just shut the fuck up." Mutters the girl with the bat. I look at her in shock. She was glaring at the old man in front of us. 

"Don't get too worked up yet. The last vote there will determine the result." Eunhyuk says, gesturing for me to reveal the last vote.

I take a deep breath, reaching my hand into the box one last time. After releasing my breath, I pull my hand out, revealing the ballot.

The paper was folded up, so carefully, I unfolded the ballot. The room is quiet as everyone waits to hear what the vote is. On the paper was a red circle, but it had a red x crossing through it.

I don't say a word, instead, I just hand the paper to Eunhyuk. He looks at the paper for a few moments before turning it for the rest of the room to see. 

"Invalid."