Morning crept in faintly through the cracks in the boarded windows, streaks of pale light slicing across the shelves. Niyana stretched with a soft groan, rubbing her eyes as the stale air clung to her throat. The quiet was shattered by a faint rattling sound.
Her eyes shot open.
Heart hammering, she scrambled out of the office, crouching low as her bare feet padded across the cool tile. She ducked behind the register, where Changbin slept slumped against the wall, his makeshift spear within reach.
"Changbin," she hissed, shaking his shoulder urgently.
He stirred, groggy, until her hand clamped over his mouth. Her other finger pressed to her lips. "Do you hear that?" she whispered directly into his ear.
The rattling grew louder, more aggressive, before cutting off abruptly.
That woke him fully. Changbin's expression sharpened, and he slid into a crouch, snatching up his spear. Quiet as a shadow, he crept toward the boarded window, pressing his ear against the wooden planks. A faint shuffle. Then—
He froze, tilting his head, breath caught in his throat. "…Hyunjin?"
His stomach churned. The name clawed its way out of him like a prayer and a curse all at once. His best friend. The thought of Hyunjin shambling outside as a walker made bile rise in his throat. Would he have to be the one to kill him? Did he have the courage to do it?
Niyana stayed crouched, her knife tight in her hand, eyes flicking anxiously between Changbin and the door.
Outside, a tall figure stood with his back turned. His clothes were dirty, torn in places, and his long black hair was tangled, falling around his face in messy knots. For one agonizing moment, Changbin couldn't breathe.
Then the man turned.
Hyunjin's face was pale but human, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. His eyes were bloodshot, wide with terror, not hunger. He stumbled to the back door and pressed his hand against it.
Changbin stepped forward slowly, every part of him tense. His heart ached at the sight, but dread lingered like a weight. If Hyunjin was bitten… if he was hiding it… Changbin might have to end it right here.
He unlocked the door with trembling fingers. The hinges creaked. The only barrier is the shudders.
"Changbin hyung," Hyunjin whispered hoarsely, his voice breaking. The two men stared at each other, frozen in the tension of what might come next.
Tears welled in Hyunjin's eyes. "It's so fucking scary out here… please, let me in."
He stepped forward, but stopped when he saw the hesitation in Changbin's stance.
"뭐?" Hyunjin asked, his voice cracking with fear.
Changbin's grip tightened on the spear. "Are you…?" The word hung in the air like a blade.
Hyunjin immediately shook his head, almost panicked. "No! I'm not—look." He yanked up his sleeves, pulled at the collar of his shirt, twisted his arms to show every inch of exposed skin. His forearms, legs, and neck—unmarked. "I'm not infected, I swear. I've just been running, hiding. My clothes got torn because I was almost caught. I found a group, but… they didn't want me. They dumped me here."
Changbin studied him for a long moment. The man standing in front of him was 5'11, his once sleek hair matted with dirt, his frame thinner from exhaustion, but his eyes—they were alive.
Finally, Changbin nodded. He pulled the door wider to let him know to go around back so he could be let in. Niyana shifted, knife still at the ready, but stepped back to give space. Together, they shoved boxes back in place to reinforce the barricade.
Hyunjin sagged against the wall with a shaky exhale before heading straight for the bathroom. The sound of water running filled the shop as he splashed his face, scrubbing dirt and sweat from his hair until it dripped down in tangled strands.
"Wah… 진짜…" he muttered, his voice carrying through the small store. He began to talk fast, words spilling out in a flood as he recounted the horrors he'd seen—people turning in seconds, neighbors ripping each other apart, the cold indifference of groups who abandoned the weak.
"And I noticed something," he added between gulps of water. "At night, they… slow down. They get idle, almost like they're sleeping. It's easier to move when the sun's down."
He came out wiping his face with the back of his sleeve, heading straight for a shelf. Ripping open a bag of chips, he devoured a handful with messy urgency before freezing. His eyes landed on Niyana for the first time.
His ears flushed red.
"Oh—uh…" He scrambled upright, bowing awkwardly. "Hi, I'm Hwang Hyunjin. Just call me Hyunjin. I'm from Brisbane. And, uh…" He glanced at Changbin, sheepish. "I'm his best friend."
Niyana couldn't help laughing softly at his flustered introduction. She bowed back politely. "I'm Niyana. From Los Angeles."
Hyunjin straightened, eyes widening at the name, then let out a nervous laugh. For a brief moment, despite the horrors clawing at the world outside, the three of them stood together in that tiny office in silence.
Hyunjin slid down into a chair, chips still crinkling in his hand as if the act of eating tethered him to reality. His chest rose and fell quickly, adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Niyana eased into the chair opposite him, curious but cautious, while Changbin lingered near the door with his spear at his side, still unwilling to let his guard fully down.
"You said you were with a group?" Changbin prompted, his voice low, careful.
Hyunjin nodded, running a hand through his damp hair, strands sticking to his forehead. "Yeah. Originally, I was outside when… everything started. The bomb, the screams—the city went insane in seconds." His voice cracked slightly, and he gripped the chip bag tighter as though it steadied him. "I had been at KIED. The Korean Institute of Education for Development. going for kickboxing. My scholarship track, I was training when it all went down. When the lockdown sirens hit, I didn't even think—I just ran."
He paused, staring at the table as if replaying the images in his head. "I ducked into an old restaurant. That's where I found the group. For a while, we stayed low. The building was boarded up enough, and at night, the walkers slowed down. It almost felt… manageable. Safe, even." He scoffed bitterly. "But people… they're worse than the monsters. They started arguing over food, over who got to sleep where. Paranoia set in. A couple of them thought I was bitten because I was sick and threw a few times, dead things just " He paused shuddering "They said I wasn't pulling my weight. And then—" He laughed without humor. "They tossed me out. Dumped me in the street like garbage during one of our scavenging group outings."
Niyana's chest tightened at the blunt cruelty of it. She set down her untouched onigiri, leaning forward slightly. "That's how you ended up here."
Hyunjin nodded, his eyes flicking to Changbin. "I thought… maybe, if I could just make it this far, maybe you'd…" His voice trailed, emotion cracking through the mask he'd been holding. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve, smearing dirt across his skin. He'd thought for sure if he'd made it, then so had Changbin. Changbin was all he had. His heart ached at the thought of Changbin not being there.
Changbin's grip on his spear loosened. He finally moved closer, pulling out the chair beside him and sinking into it. "Hyunjin, you idiot," he muttered, though his voice was thick with relief. "You should've never gone near groups like that in the first place."
Hyunjin gave a halfhearted grin. "Easy for you to say, hiding in a convenience store with slushies."
That earned the smallest laugh from Niyana, tension lifting just a fraction. "He's got a point. I've been here less than a day, and I already know this place beats a restaurant filled with lunatics."
Hyunjin chuckled softly, shaking his head. For the first time since stepping inside, he looked almost human again—less like prey.
The three of them sat together around the scratched table, the food between them a fragile offering of normalcy. Outside, the faint moans of the dead brushed against the barricades, but inside, for a fleeting moment, they weren't just survivors. They were students again, connected by programs, scholarships, and a cruel twist of fate.