THUNDERBIRD | CHA HYUNSOO

10

dasom had learned tune out the gossipy voices of her neighbors as they discussed the state of hyunsoo. don't they have anything better to talk about?

she rubbed her temples and sighed, a gesture that had become quite repetitive today. she could feel the growing headache thumping against her skull. what a day. she rubbed her eyes and looked around before her eyes landed on a person. the guy looked like hell. several giant scars adorned his face with one eye swollen almost completely shut. he had been staring at her, but when she had caught his gaze, he quickly looked away like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. he quickly adverted his gaze back to the small group as they talk about the supposed to be anonymous votes.

eunhyuk's sister walked past her, sparing a small observant glance as dasom gave a small wave. she could hear her giving a speech about who would be next, dasom couldn't help but smile. she was impressed by how quickly she had shut them up. she made a mental note to ask for her name later. right now she wanted to try and rest.

she felt guilty. guilty that she couldn't do anything for hyunsoo while they locked him up in a room like some animal. she wondered how he was holding up. she also cursed eunhyuk for his words earlier.

"i want you to stay away from hyunsoo, even in quarantine." eunhyuk whispered to her. he had caught her outside after they had locked hyunsoo and the old clerk up.

"he's my friend. am i just not supposed to talk to him anymore?" she deflected, placing her hands on her hips.

"i think you being near him won't be good for him. we don't know how he's holding out. he needs to be isolated."

"you're being a little ridiculous. i've been with him this whole time, not once has he harmed me." eunhyuk sighed, pushing up his glasses. "yet."

"he hasn't harmed you yet. until we know his status, try to stay out of his way."

dasom scoffed, "like i said, you're not my boss. i don't mean to be rude, i'm sure you're doing a decent job being the "leader", but i don't do well with people telling me what to do."

"it's your funeral."

she scoffed, remembering the useless conversation. "excuse me?" a voice spoke up. she glanced up at him, seeing the same scarred man looking down at her.

she shifted uncomfortably. the attention he gave her made her feel uncomfortable. it wasn't like the other judgmental attention she got from everyone else, he had a dark aura. an unsettling feeling settles around her as she gave him an uneasy smile.

his digs in his pocket and pulls out a candy bar, sticking it out for her. "i noticed you seem tired. you can perk up with some food." he bites at his nails with his free hand.

"oh, thanks." she mumbled uncomfortably, hesitantly taking the candy bar from him.

"the pleasures mine. i always have more if you need it." he smiled at her as she held her head to avoid his gaze.

"okay, i believe you." she joked awkwardly before putting the candy bar into her pants pocket. he quickly walked away once he seemed satisfied with her answer.

dasom shivered as the man turned back to the other residents, she had to focus on something else. her eyes landed on the store clerk's wife, and god was it a hard sight to see. she couldn't take the look of the old man's wife's worried face anymore. she sighed, feeling regret for her outburst earlier during the votes. she made it her mission to apologize, despite knowing she was in the right. however, she was going to be stuck with these people for who knows how long. she needed to at least be civil

she quietly approached the woman, "hello." her voice came out a whisper, a big contrast to her voice earlier.

"oh, hello." the older woman responded sweetly, giving her a small nod.

"i just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. mind if i sit?" dasom gestured to the empty spot on the floor.

"not at all, go ahead." dasom felt her heart break for the woman. how could such a sweet lady have such a nightmare of a husband?

she sits down next to her, "i'm sorry, i don't know your name." she chuckled uncomfortably.

"i'm sunyoung." the older woman smiled. "i'm dasom. i live up in 1508, but i'm usually never here." she rubbed her hands together.

"i'm really sorry, for how i acted towards your husband." dasom started, "i tend to be defensive over people i care about. that, mixed with my short temper, don't really mix well."

she chuckled before continuing, "i promise you i'm not a total nightmare to be near."

sunyoung smiled at her genuineness, "don't be sorry, i thought it was sweet you stood up for your boyfriend."

boyfriend? boyfriend?! dasom choked on her own spit, sending herself into a coughing fit. when she could finally breathe, she corrected her, "hyunsoo's not my boyfriend."

sunyoung's faced turned a shade of pink out of embarrassment, "oh, i'm sorry! the way you talk to him, i thought you two were a couple."

"it's okay, honest mistake." dasom giggled. "we're just friends, kind of."

"well, he's lucky to have a friend like you to defend him like that. it's admirable." sunyoung gently placed her hand on top of dasom's.

"as much as i'd like to stay and chat, i've got more people to apologize to. it was really nice meeting you sunyoung." dasom gave her a toothy grin before standing up.

she made it over to the dog lady and her friend, giving them both a small wave over. they hesitantly approached her, which she didn't blame them for.

"i just wanted to apologize for my poor attitude earlier, it's not part of my character." she mumbled to them.

"it's about time someone put the mean old man in his place, you just wanted to defend your boyfriend." the dog lady acknowledged, causing dasom's eyes do go wide.

"he's not my boyfriend! i barely know him." she declared, crossing her arms.

"are you sure? you too seem close." she pets her dog and looks at her.

dasom sighed, "we're just friends. nothing more."

—

she finally made it over to the three boys. they immediately got defensive before she could get too close.

"you're not supposed to be here! four eyes said so himself!" the man with the longer hair remarked.

she puts her hands up in defense, "i'm just here to apologize, that's all."

"for what?" the male with glasses questioned.

"for my piss poor attitude earlier? i had no right to act that way, it was poor judgment of me." she simply nodded.

before any of the could respond to her, the scarred individual comes running and staggering towards them in fear. blood running down his nose.

he quickly stood up and looked at them, "i think i've turned into a monster." he wipes his nose to show the blood. "please lock me up."

i lowkey hate this chapter. i wanted a filler to wrap up the episode and show more of dasom's personality but i'm honestly not liking her 💀 any tips or suggestions would be great!