The Sun Will Come Out (WayV)

Fear in the Veins

"Finally!" 

Fangsu sighed over the phone. "Yijun, I'm sorry. A lot happened. I'm alright, though."

Yijun smiled at the other line, happy his sister was doing well. "I'm glad to hear that. Do you know how worried I was? I oughtta neck you-" 

"Yi, I'm sorry." Fangsu lowered her phone, glancing at Lihua's hospital room. The bed was empty. "Look, Yi, I gotta go. I'll text you later." 

"Wait-" 

"See ya, bro!" Fangsu ended the call, slipping her phone away and running down the hall. Where'd she go? 

Fangsu ran faster, passing room after room. She reached the end of the hall and saw a girl at the window wearing a hospital gown. She had straight black hair, around shoulder length. Fangsu knew it was Lihua. 

"Lihua," she called. Lihua wheeled around, her bare feet barely making a sound against the cool floor. 

"Oh, Fangsu. Hey," she uttered. Fangsu sighed, rubbing Lihua's back. 

"Lihua . . . Did Weijian not tell you to stay in bed?" 

Lihua nervously looked down, shuffling her feet. "Perhaps," she smiled. Fangsu giggled before seized her wrist. 

"Come on, we're taking you back to your room." 

Lihua followed Fangsu quickly, trying not to hiss in pain. She tried to keep her foot from wincing. Lihua calmly walked on, her eyelids starting to feel heavy.

Although her wounds had been healed, it'd take a while for her to fully recover. 

.･:*:･ﾟ'✫,'✫'ﾟ･:*:･˙

"I hope we're not next."

YangYang looked out the window, scanning what he could. "We may be on Code Red now, but you never know. It didn't take long for Eximia to catch fire," he said. 

He heard Dejun hum in agreement. "All we can do is hope." Dejun scratched his head, shaking it. "Jeez, how long will the sky be gray? There's still ash outside." Dejun clucked his tongue before walking out of the room, heading to the kitchen. 

YangYang picked up his phone, opening up his messages and scrolling through his contacts. He pressed Tungmei's contact and called her. He held the phone to his ear, waiting for some sort of reply. 

"Hello?" Tungmei's voice came from the other end. 

"Tung! Thank the Lord of Cheetos you're okay," he laughed. He heard Tungmei chuckle from the other end. He could almost see her shaking her head at him. 

 "What's up?" she asked. 

"Just wanted to see if you're okay," he replied. 

"Yeah. I'm fine. One of my friends is in the hospital, though. I'm heading over there right now."

"What?" Tungmei could hear the panic in YangYang's voice. 

"Don't worry, her wounds are healed and everything. She just needs some time, you know? To recover fully and all." 

"Oh," YangYang said. "I hope she gets well soon." YangYang was a little concerned by the silence on the other end of the line. The worrisome pause. 

"Yeah," Tungmei breathed solemnly. "I hope so, too."

.･:*:･ﾟ'✫,'✫'ﾟ･:*:･˙

Lihua was surprised as she listened to the pitter patter of the rain. Her hand moved up to the glass, wanting to stick her hand out and catch the droplets in her hand. She wore a frown, watching the water cover the glass and drip down. 

"Lihua."

Her ears perked up when she heard a familiar voice, one that she hadn't heard in a while. She spun around, her face lighting up. 

"Kun?" she asked, getting out of bed. Kun ran over, dropping his jacket on the nearest chair. 

"No, no! Stay in bed, Li," he said. He gently helped her sit back down while Lihua looked down, red-faced. 

"How've you been?" she asked. Her throat was sore, her voice unable to project. Kun smiled ever so slightly, giving a thumbs up. 

"I've been alright. I heard about you being hurt, though, so I came here." Lihua didn't even bother to ask how he'd found out. Word spread faster than the speed of light between the two schools. She gave a small smile, slightly recalling the searing pain she had felt before going unconscious. 

"Ah. I appreciate you visiting," she said politely. "You're very sweet." Lihua chuckled. She noticed a slight tint of red on Kun's cheeks but decided to ignore it and keep quiet. 

"Oh," he laughed. "It's no problem. I was worried," he trailed off, playing with his fingers, pondering over his thoughts. 

"Is something the matter?" Lihua questioned. 

"Do you . . ." Kun shook his head. "No," he muttered. "If you don't mind me asking . . . What exactly happened to you? As in-"

"How I got hurt?" 

"Yeah. If you don't want to answer, it's alright. I-" 

"No, no," Lihua said, smiling and patting Kun's back. "I'm perfectly fine with sharing, Kun. Don't worry." Kun laughed, feeling reassured. 

"I was holding the door open for everyone to leave, right? And when everyone was out, I was about to leave, but I heard someone scream. It was my friend, Jiwoo. There was a bunch of rubble that fell on her, so she was stuck." Kun gasped, his eyes going wide. Lihua giggled as she continued, "I went to go help her, but I got stuck after getting her out. I went unconscious after that. And now I'm here!" Lihua said, doing jazz hands. 

Kun didn't laugh, or smile, or frown. He just sat there, gaping. "Woah," he breathed. "Lihua, you're . . . you're really brave." 

Lihua glanced at Kun, gazing at him from the corner of her eye. She smiled, looking away. "Thanks," she said meekly. Kun patted her shoulder and beamed, an admiring twinkle in his eyes.

"You're a hero."

.･:*:･ﾟ'✫,'✫'ﾟ･:*:･˙

Tungmei's heart started beating faster and faster, her palms growing sweaty. Her stomach lurched and her legs felt weak beneath her. She dragged on, making her way through the Exima and Dominatus tunnel. It was a small tunnel that connected the two, like a famous landmark in a way. 

Her shaky hands struggled to keep a firm grip on the red flashlight. She could feel her breath become shaky and her heartbeat began to pound in her ears. She swallowed hard when she heard a rustle behind her. 

She ignored the sound and continued on, gulping every second. Then she heard the voice. 

"Long time no see, Tungmei." 

Her body froze on the spot. Her eyes went wide, her jaw dropped, and her heartbeat became deafening. She shut her eyes tightly, sucking in a deep gulp of air. Tungmei mustered up the courage after what seemed like forever, slowly turning around. It was what she had dreaded. 

Tungmei felt the fear course through her veins as she came face to face with the figure from her nightmares.