left for dead | all of us are dead

seven

"being delusional is something you're great at."

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When Mi-hwa exits the recording room she has to drop her bat to not impale her friends when they wrap her in a hug— Cheong-san and On-jo elbow each other while squishing Mi-hwa between them. Mi-hwa smiles and relaxes, glad to see them okay.

They break away and Dae-su is next, wrapping her in a hug so tight that she's lifted off her feet. "Yah! She can't breathe, idiot!" Wu-jin says, smacking the other boy on the back. Dae-su sets her back down on the floor with an apology, "You look less psycho now that you don't have blood all over your face." Mi-hwa pats his shoulder, "Thanks Dae-su." She gives a side hug to Wu-jin and Joon-yeong before standing next to her sister. Nam-ra is on the other side of her twin and Mi-hwa can't help but wiggle her eyebrows at her sister when the class president isn't looking.

She scans the room, counting everyone in her head. This was it? Was everyone else in the school dead then? Mi-hwa stared at On-jo and it was like there was a hole in the spot beside her. "I-sak?" Mi-hwa asked, praying that she was just missing. But when On-jo's eyes filled with tears while looking down, Mi-hwa knew.

Mi-hwa's throat burned as she tried to repress the tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't expecting all of her friends to be alive but she had this naive hope that they'd all make it out of this alive. Ignoring the ache in her chest she walked towards On-jo who had started silently crying after Mi-hwa brought up her dead best friend.

Mi-hwa threw her arms around On-jo's shoulders, letting the girl cry against her neck. "I'm sorry I wasn't here," Mi-hwa whispered to the girl. Even if her presence didn't end up saving I-sak in the end, she hurts for On-jo having to go through that on her own. "It's okay," On-jo mumbles against her neck. "You're sister was there. Even gave me a hug and everything."

Mi-hwa pulled back, using her thumb to wipe away her friend's tears. "Yeah? How does it feel to be the first one to get a hug from Ye-ji other than me? They're nice, right?"

On-jo lets out a wet laugh, "Yeah."

"We're going to get through this," Mi-hwa says, staring into On-jo's tear-filled eyes. "For I-sak, her memory lives on through us." She sees confidence build back up in On-jo's eyes, her resolve strengthening.

Mi-hwa turns back towards the others. They all went off to do their own thing so the two girls could have a moment to themselves but it's a small room so there's not much privacy anyway. Mi-hwa heads back in the direction of her sister but is stopped by someone tugging on her hand. She tumbles into Su-hyeok's chest, his arms wrapping around her.

"Hi Su-hyeok," she hugs her arms around his torso. "You scared the shit out of me," he breathes against the top of her head. Her eyes are closed, just taking in the moment. The adrenaline of her day was slowly waning and she could feel herself getting more tired by the minute.

"I know," she says against his chest. "But I heard you were also being a self-sacrificial hero." She pulls her head away just enough to look up at him. Mi-hwa smiles and it spreads to Su-hyeok as he stares back down at her with a grin.

"Look at us," he says.

"Look at us," she repeats.

"Don't look at me, I think I'm going to puke," Dae-su cuts him. Both Mi-hwa and Su-hyeok look at him with scary synchrony. "What? Do you know how insensitive it is for you two to be lovey-dovey in front of all of us single people?" The boy shrugs.

Mi-hwa moves away from Su-hyeok's chest but not far since she stays tucked under his arm. Ms. Park finally speaks up, "Mi-hwa, do you have your phone with you?"