𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐲 ❅ 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐤

[ 𝟔 ]

Residents of the apartment building Yujin was living in gathered in the security office, discussing their plans for the next step and what to do next. Yujin sat on one of the tables while quietly playing with her fingers, she had a fidgeting habit whenever she's nervous or distressed.

Taking a glance at the people around her, Yujin recognized some of them as she would sometimes see them in the building. There was Hyein, a lady in a red dress who takes her dog with her everywhere she goes. Yikyeong, the female firefighter whose fiance was said to be dead. Byungil, a man who looked like he was in his 40's and was also the brother of the supermarket owner. The man who was wearing a blue polo shirt was called Seungwan. Then there was the soldier and Eunhyuk.

Yujin noticed that everyone looked tired, hopeless, frightened. They all seemed to be traumatized by what had happened at the entrance last night. Yujin couldn't blame them though, as she still couldn't get rid of the image of the monster she saw in the staircase in her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see her horrifying face, hear her demonic shrieks, smell the metallic scent of blood. She remembered everything, so vividly.

God, she'd do anything to just forget about the terrifying incident.

"We'll live together in one place until help arrives, it's much safer for us to be together," Yikyeong, the firefighter lady, said to everyone. Her voice snapping Yujin out of her thoughts, she glanced up and nodded at her suggestion. Indeed, it would be much safer for all of them if they stayed together. Recalling all the horror movies she had watched in her life, being separated or going solo would only get themselves killed.

Seungwan, the man wearing the blue shirt, raised his hands slightly and asked, "Where are we all gonna go?" "The daycare center," Eunhyuk stated almost immediately, clearly he had been thinking this matter beforehand. "It's relatively safe, as it's far from the front entrance. It'll also be better to sleep in there than out here," he added. The people gathered around all nodded, agreeing with his plans. Smart idea, Yujin thought.

Eunhyuk was about to continue but was interrupted by a middle-aged woman exclaiming, "I won't allow it!", catching the attention of everyone in the room. She had an unwelcoming glare on her face, evidently pissed off. "Who are you to say no?" asked Byungil, upset by her objection. "She's the director of the daycare," said Hyein.

"Scumbags. Pieces of shit! You ignored me when I begged, you're all shameless!" The woman yelled out harshly, especially looking at Eunhyuk as if her words were directed towards him, making the young boy lower his head. This didn't go unnoticed by Yujin as she awkwardly looked back and forth between the woman and Eunhyuk. Staring at the boy, she couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him. No one would be happy after being called these cruel names, right?

Eunhyuk quickly diverted his eyes elsewhere and his eyes fell on Yujin's, causing the boy and the girl to make eye contact. Feeling flustered that Eunhyuk caught her staring, Yujin quickly turned her head and looked away. She mentally scolded herself for being so obvious, swearing to never do that and embarrass herself again.

"Your daughter probably needs someone's help too," Yikyeong stated calmly, making the woman go silent. "That's why I said let me go... You can do whatever you want after I leave," the woman said to Eunhyuk anxiously, begging him to do her this favor and let her leave the building.

"What about you?" Eunhyuk interrupted the woman. "Are you okay with dying?" he asked her, the woman went speechless and just stared at Eunhyuk. "Do you have a plan? There's no internet or phone service, so how can you be sure where she is?" he continued, not allowing the woman to speak.

"First, you have to live. Otherwise, you won't be able to find or see your daughter," Eunhyuk ended, looking calm as ever. The air became silent, the woman tried to open her mouth and speak but no words came out. Everyone in the security room didn't dare to make a sound, afraid to make the situation worse.

Yes, Eunhyuk may be too straightforward and blunt with his words, but what he said was true.

The soldier sitting next to Yujin grabbed a bottle of water from his bag and stood up to offer it to the woman. "Please calm down... and help us. I promise to help you later too," the man pleaded. However, the woman just huffed out angrily and shoved the bottle of water away, startling everyone in the room. The bottle flew out of the man's hands and water immediately splashed out, most of it landing on Yujin's shirt, causing the girl to let out a soft yelp as she frantically tried to wipe it off.

"Do whatever you want!" The woman cried out, walking out of the security room in defeat. Everyone began whispering to one another, engulfing in conversations of their own, probably shocked by what had happened. Too focused on the conflict that took place just seconds ago, nobody paid attention to the now soaking wet Yujin.

She tried to wipe off the water with her hands but it just seemed to make matter worse. Opting for something other than her hands, Yujin hurriedly looked around the small room for tissues when suddenly a few pieces of tissues were handed to her.

She thanked the person without looking up and quickly dabbed on her shirt, drying off the soaked fabric. Once her shirt seemed dry enough, Yujin glanced up at the person standing in front of her and was surprised when she saw Eunhyuk. So he was the one who was helping me.

"Uhh... thanks," her eyes lighten and her lips curved up into a warm smile, thankful for the helping hand offered by Eunhyuk. Glancing back at the girl, he returned a light smile and replied, "It's cool." simply brushing it off.

After the conflict, the residents slowly stood up and began exiting the room since the meeting seemingly ended. Soon, the only ones left there were Eunhyuk and Yujin. The two of them sat in their seats quietly, neither of them said anything. To Yujin's surprise, the silence was comfortable, not awkward at all, making the girl feel at ease. Eunhyuk found the quietness between them peaceful and comforting as well, almost like a short break for him from the catastrophic reality outside the room.

"I'm sorry," Yujin told Eunhyuk out of the blue, confusing him. Feeling amused and slightly puzzled by her sudden apology, he asked her, "For what?" a small chuckle leaving his lips. "For what the woman just said! She wasn't very kind to you, and her words were very harsh... it must've suck to be yelled at like this," Yujin mumbled, feeling upset for Eunhyuk. "You were only doing this to help us survive, people need to understand that and learn to appreciate your effort," she continued, playing with her fingers again, a sign that she's nervous.

"Yujin," Eunhyuk called out her name, surprising the young girl as she jerked her head up to look at him. "It's not your fault, there's no need to apologize," he told her. "And thanks... I try my best not to let their words get to me," he shrugged, reaching for his glasses and pushing them back up.

He had a smile on his face, but Yujin could tell it was a bitter, forced smile. She was no stranger to smiles like this as she was constantly faking a smile herself. She knew how difficult it was to pretend to be okay when in reality you're not. She wanted more than anything to tell Eunhyuk that it's okay for him to show his true feelings, especially when he's with her.

Eunhyuk got up from his seat, looked at Yujin, and said, "I'm gonna check on the food storage first, I'll talk to you later," Yujin simply nodded, gesturing for him to leave freely if he wanted to. Offering another smile to Yujin, he walked off and exited the room.

Yujin watched his back as he left, noticing how his smile never leaving his face even when he had left the room. His facade, Yujin could see through it, she could see through it all.

Letting out a sigh, Yujin got up from her seat and left the security room as well.