𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐲 ❅ 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐤

[ 𝟏𝟓 ]

Yujin sat in the corner of the daycare center, her mind still clouded by the memories of what had happened during the day.

The girl, the soldier, her panic attack, Eunhyuk.

She let out a sigh out of embarrassment as she recalled how she broke down in front of Eunhyuk. She hated showing her feelings to others, she hated crying in front of people, she hated being seen as weak.

I'll never ever cry in front of others again, especially not him.

The image of Eunhyuk suddenly filled her mind, a faint blush crept onto her face and the pace of her heartbeat quickened just by the thought of him. "No, no, no!" she whispered out to herself, trying her best to push away the thoughts of the boy she had met just a few days ago and put her palm over her heart as if it would calm its erratic beating

Breaking News.

The two words displayed on the TV abruptly, grabbing the attention of Yujin and making everyone in the daycare center zip their mouth while fixing their gaze on the screen.

"As of August 17, 2020, martial law has been declared throughout the Republic of Korea in accordance with Article 77, Section 1 of the Constitution and Article 2, Section 2 of the Martial Law Act. The military will be in charge of all security and civil affairs. The military has confirmed that an unspecified number of people have been turning into unknown creatures. The exact cause is still unknown, but it is believed to be related to human desire. It is not a respiratory or blood-borne infection"

The residents watching the TV gasped in shock and realization. "Desire? So it's not an infectious virus?" someone asked, the question made Yujin scoff an amusing laugh before turning her head and stared at the person. "Dude, they literally just said that it's not a respiratory or blood-borne infection." The person who asked the question immediately lowered their head, feeling embarrassed after being mocked by the girl.

"Quarantine those who show symptoms of hypothermia, nosebleeds, fainting, and auditory or visual hallucinations. These creatures have excellent resilience and regenerative abilities," the military officer continued. The residents listened attentively, nodding as they absorbed all the new information.

The Golden Hour.

Yujin perked her ears up at the new word, paying close attention to the announcement being made on TV. Apparently, there is a period of time before a person turns into a monster when they cannot recover from severe lacerations or damage. After capturing those monsters, it is crucial to burn them with fire. "Hmm... so that's how they are killed," she nodded slowly, keeping that useful information in mind.

"The military can and will solve the current situation. Survive out there, and good luck to us all." With that, the emergency broadcast ended and the TV flashed. "I certainly hope so," Yujin huffed out.

"Look, we're okay!" the supermarket owner, Seokhyeon told the people sitting beside him with hopeful eyes. "The military will rescue us if we hold out," he added. Seungwan quickly nodded his head, "I knew they'd save us!" he said with a bright smile. "She just said we're on our own!" Byungil sighed frustratedly, disagreeing with the two men.

"What? That's what she said?"
"Desire makes you a monster?"
"What does that even mean?"
"You saw them roaming before!"

The residents broke out into a heated discussion, debating about which one of them was right. Annoyed by their meaningless and time-wasting quarrels, Yujin groaned in irritation with a hard roll of her eyes. "These people..." she tsked as she let her eyes flutter close, blocking out the loud noise as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

After what felt like hours, Yujin finally woke up from her much-needed nap. She opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them gently and allowing them time to adjust to the blinding light coming from the window blinds.

"Did you hear? There was this boy who fell from the 9th floor but he's still alive!" Hyein exclaimed with wide eyes to the lady beside her, gaining Yujin's attention. "Wait, how is that possible?" The lady gasped in shock, not believing Hyein's words. "I heard that he's turning into a monster!"

Monster? Who's turning into a monster?

"Hey, what are you guys talking about? What monster?" Yujin asked the two women, feeling both curious and confused at the same time. "Haven't you heard?" Hyein asked the girl. Yujin shook her head, eyes inching wider with desperation to know what she was talking about.

"The guy Eunyu was with, he fell and dropped from the 9th floor. His head was bleeding so much, but he's not dead! Apparently, he's turning into a monster..." Hyein trailed off. "What? Is Eunyu safe? Where is she right now?" Yujin inquired as a wave of protectiveness washed over her, feeling worried about the younger girl she had befriended not so long ago.

"I think they're in the game center or something-" before Hyein could even finish her sentence, Yujin hopped on her feet and ran outside, leaving the two women in the room as they stared at her quizzically.

She needed to know if Eunyu was okay. She promised Eunhyuk to protect her.

Hurriedly pushing the door of the game center open, Yujin let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she saw Eunyu sitting on one of the chairs, all in one piece.

"Dude! You scared the shit out of me," Yujin called out to the younger girl, her voice startling Eunyu who was too immersed in her comic book to notice Yujin was here. The younger girl jerked upwards in her seat, patting her chest as if it would calm her beating heart. "YOU scared the shit out of me!" Eunyu replied with her mouth agape.

Yujin ran forward and hugged the sitting girl, earning a chuckle from her. "What's with the hugging?" asked Eunyu, a smirk on her face. "I thought something happened to you!" said Yujin, tightening her arms around Eunyu with a slight pout. They both rocked side to side in each other's embrace. "I'm okay... don't worry..."

As the two girls were hugging, Yujin saw someone lying down in the corner of her eyes. She pulled away from Eunyu hastily to take a better look at the figure, her mouth parted in shock as she recognized who it was.

It was the boy she had seen on the security cameras the other day with Eunhyuk, the one who was hiding from the monster in the elevator.

/author's note/

hey people! so I just wanna apologise in advanced for any grammatical mistakes or error in this chapter!!

I just wanna quickly post a new chapter before I go to bed so... yeah

hope you enjoyed it! Yujin will meet Hyunsoo soon hehe ;)