Minseok walked down the hallway, his footsteps echoing through the enclosed space. The sound of his footsteps made him a bit anxious as he looked over his shoulder every now and again. He felt guilty as he had found a piece of unexpired candy and didn't tell anyone; he didn't want to feel bad and end up giving it to someone else. He had found it when he had been checking some backpacks that had been abandoned in the classrooms. One of the bags he had found a few goodies, one being the piece of candy while the other was a bottle of unopened soda. After he had found it he quickly went to a quiet classroom on the third floor; one that most of the other group members didn't go into often. He sat on a desk by the windows, unwrapped the coffee candy, and raised it towards his lips. Just as he opened his mouth to pop the candy in, the door opened and Hina entered. He must've had a deer caught in the headlights look as Hina looked him over not once, but twice as the candy was held just centimeters away from his lips.
She cleared her throat, lifting her hand to cover the small smile that had begun to form on her lips. "Did I catch you at the wrong time?"
He lowered the candy, giving it a sorrowful look as he sat it back on its wrapper. "No, it's fine. Did you need me for something?" he asked.
She approached him and sat on a desk across from him; she noticeably looked around the room and then to the door. "Minseok-ah, you're the only person I knew from before all this happened." He nodded, but remained silent as she continued to glance at the door every few seconds. "Before the power went out, back at the penthouse, I had to use the bathroom one night and got up around one in the morning. On my way back to bed I saw that the front door was cracked, when I had approached the door to close it I heard a voice. I looked outside the door and saw Yongrae talking on the phone with someone. At first I thought I was overthinking it, but now I am not so sure."
Tilting his head, he tried to make sense of what she was saying. "What did you hear him talk about?"
"He was talking in a hushed tone, but at some point I heard him mention Kittichai and Jiwon. He mentioned how he had ran into them on the train and is currently staying in a group with them. He then replied to someone, or at least it sounded like he did. He ended the conversation by saying he would bring them. I don't know where he would be bringing them, but the way he said it didn't sound too pleasant." She explained what she had heard.
Looking out the window at the clear blue sky, he thought of a response and a reason behind what Hina had heard. "Maybe he was talking to his deceased wife's voicemail, he could've just been a bit delusional over her death. I heard from Jiwon that Yongrae had been with her since middle school. It's not completely uncommon for people to do things like talking into their phones after the death of their loved ones; so maybe he was just telling his wife how he had run into their classmates from middle school."
"Then what about him saying that he would bring them?" She questioned.
"Denial that she's gone?" He responded; however, he wasn't really believing that Yongrae was in denial either.
"Right. Well, I originally thought I was overthinking it; that was until last month when KZ and Yeongsu were patrolling the one night and ran into the lurkers inside. Right before they went on patrol I saw Yongrae go down to the first floor. I always think that I overthink things, but when KZ had explained to me the next day of what had happened she had said it seemed like the cafeteria door had been purposefully left open. What if Yongrae had been the one to leave it open?" She stated.
Minseok didn't like the way the conversation was going. "Hina, that's a serious assumption you're making towards Yongrae. He's in this building too, would he willingly put his life at risk to endanger us?"
She visibly frowned at his response, "No, maybe his intention wasn't to kill anyone. What if he wanted the group to think the place was too dangerous to maintain; to move on. If, and I mean if; if he was talking to someone on the phone and not his deceased wife, then maybe he is trying to get the group to move so he can bring Jiwon to whoever he was talking to."
What Hina was saying made sense, which was the problem. Minseok didn't want to grow suspicious of one of the other survivors in the group; especially when they already had enough to worry about with the infected outside. "Hina, what you say makes a lot of sense, but I really hope you're wrong about him."
"Yeah, me too." She stated as he watched her pick at her fingernails.
He picked up the candy that he was going to eat and reached out, pressing it to Hina's lips. She stopped picking her nails and made eye contact with him as the candy rested against her mouth. "Don't think too much about it, I'll discuss this with Seojun and Hanwoo later. Have a piece of candy, maybe it'll take your mind off of things temporarily."
She didn't respond as she opened her mouth, taking the candy from his grasp. Her lips lightly brushed against his fingertips as she grabbed it with her teeth, sending a shiver down his spine. She held eye contact with him as she began to suck on the candy. "Do you have any more?" Hina asked with a slight slur.
"No, you seemed like you needed it more." Minseok laughed inwardly, but went quiet as she stood up and leaned towards him; her breath tickled him as her lips met his. His mind was blank as she pushed the candy into his mouth. She then backed away with a smirk.
"It was yours to begin with, so I figured I could share." She stated with a wink as she walked to the door. "I'll see you later." She exited the room as he was still trying to grasp what had happened. The coffee flavor that was now on his tongue was intoxicating.
He turned and grabbed the bottle of soda, chugging half of it. The soda didn't mix well with the coffee flavor, yet it was still overwhelming; the way she had shared the candy with him had caused his brain to run rampant as thoughts of her plagued his mind. He thought of the way she trusted him, her laugh, her smile, and lastly to the way her lips felt against his. He covered his face with his hands as he felt his cheeks become warm.
"What just happened?" He asked himself as he kicked his feet giddily. Minseok couldn't help the way he felt about what had occurred between them; honestly, he couldn't help the way he felt about her. So he sat there on a desk, kicking his feet happily, whilst covering his face like a little kid.
__________
Evening had arrived by the time Minseok had gone back to the clubroom to find the two detectives. When he had arrived he had only found Yongrae and KZ. He looked around the room before asking KZ where everyone was. When he asked, she looked up from a book she was reading that she had found in the school library.
"Yeongsu and Jiwon are talking to Taehyun in the art room. I believe I heard Seojun and Hanwoo say they were going to the library to grab some books for Hina, who happens to be in the nurse's office on the second floor so she can go through the medicine cabinet." She responded with a disinterested tone before returning her attention back to the book she was holding.
Without a word, Minseok went to the library on the first floor. Navigating the lower floor hallways alone was terrifying to him. He still wasn't confident in his ability to defend himself, so he practically jogged to the library. When he pushed the doors open, dread filled him as he didn't see anyone. The library wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. Only one thought filled his mind as he walked through the doors, 'anything could be hiding amongst the bookshelves.' He had his weapon drawn as he walked past the rows of books, trying to find the detectives.
He walked further into the library and was almost to the back when something ran into him harshly, knocking him to the ground. In a panic he held his weapon out, blocking his chest; he hoped that if the lurker tried to bite him in his vulnerable state he would be able to keep it off of him for a moment. He had his eyes squeezed shut as he anticipated an attack; however, nothing happened. Just as he began to open an eye to peek at what had run into him, someone spoke.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay, Minseok-ah? You look rather pale." Minseok's eyes snapped open as he looked at the tall man in front of him. Seojun had a hand extended towards him to help him off the floor.
"Ah, you surprised me. I felt like I just got hit by a truck; what have you been eating?" He chuckled as he took Seojun's hand, letting the detective help him back to his feet.
"I probably eat the same foods you do, but that's beside the point; what are you doing here?" He asked, concern lacing his tone.
"Right! There was something I needed to discuss with you and Hanwoo; is he here?" Minseok asked.
"Yeah, follow me." Seojun said.
Minseok silently followed the eldest of the group over to where the pink haired detective was reading a book. Hanwoo looked up from what he was reading as the two guys stopped next to him. "Minseok-ah? I'm surprised to see you; did you come here by yourself?"
Minseok nodded as he swallowed his saliva nervously. "I didn't want to raise any suspicion and I felt that this should be discussed privately."
He watched as the two detectives exchanged looks, "what is it?" The eldest asked.
"It's Yongrae. Hina has reason to be concerned about him. She thinks he is the one who left the cafeteria doors open the night you two took over for KZ and Yeongsu." He stated.
"Why does she think that?" Hanwoo asked.
"She saw him leave the clubroom before Yeongsu and KZ began their patrol. It seems a bit far fetched, but she heard him on the phone shortly after our arrival at the penthouse. She said he talked about Kittichai and Jiwon and said he would bring them somewhere." He explained.
"What if it was just an innocent call to hear his deceased wife's voicemail, then he proceeded to tell her about some of us?" Hanwoo stated.
"I don't know. Yongrae is the only one of us who isn't really connecting with anyone in the group." Seojun stated as he seemed to be trying to piece things together. "I mean if he is literally trying to bring Jiwon somewhere, then I suspect he may try to sabotage this location so that we can move in the direction he wants to travel."
"That's what Hina said." He responded.
"She has good deduction skills. If she came to the same conclusion that I did, then maybe it would be a good idea to keep an eye on him." The detective said.
"Should we tell anyone else to keep an eye on him?" Hanwoo asked.
"I think we should tell Yeongsu." Seojun stated.
Minseok seemed to contemplate for a moment, "Literally any of us could know aside from Yongrae. Nobody else falls under suspicion. Taehyun spends most of his time in the art room, Yeongsu and KZ both were talking to him before they went on patrol that night. Jiwon was in the clubroom when I left to help Hina who was in the nurse's office going through some of the medical equipment. The only person unaccounted for would be Yongrae."
"Nobody is friends with him either?" Hanwoo asked.
"No. Jiwon seems to have a troubled past with him, Taehyun doesn't seem to pay any mind to him, Hina is suspicious of him, KZ seems to only go out of her way to interact with Yeongsu, and Yongrae doesn't really seem to care about making friends either." Minseok explained as he thought about if he had seen any interactions between Yongrae and someone else; nothing came to mind, the only time he saw someone interact with him was during group discussions.
"Alright then we should let everyone know, discreetly." Seojun said.
"How should we proceed with that?" Minseok asked.
Hanwoo seemed to consider it for a moment. "You tell Jiwon, Seojun tells Yeongsu, Yeongsu tells KZ and Taehyun. Simply a web."
"Alright, let's do that later. We still have to find some more books for Hina. Speaking of, would you be willing to deliver a few books to her when you leave? They are sitting on the checkout counter by the door." Seojun said as he took the book Hanwoo was holding and handed it to Minseok.
"Yeah, I'll drop them off for you." He agreed as he waved goodbye to the detectives, heading over to the books to pick them up.
Walking through the hallways, the books were tiring his arms. He had to stop for a break as he set the books on the staircase's railing, easing the weight off of his arms a bit.
"Would you like some help with that?" Someone asked from a few steps up.
Minseok hadn't heard the voice much recently causing him to turn to look up at the speaker, surprised to see them. "Taehyun-ssi? What are you doing down here?"
He shrugged his shoulders as he held up a string that had cans tied to it. "I made something to tie across the bottom of the stairs; it'll make noise if something walks through it."
"That's a pretty good idea, and yes, I would love some help." Minseok smiled brightly as he stared up at the artist.
He watched as the artist set down his string of cans and approached him, picking up half of the book pile. Taehyun's hair had faded quite a bit since the last time he spoke to him. It was a mix of dark gray and black and with his hair growing out the roots of his hair were pure black. The darker hair made his fair complexion stand out more than it did before. He stared at the artist's features for a moment, noticing that his face had gotten a bit thinner.
"How have you been?" He asked as he picked the books up once again.
Taehyun turned and visibly looked him over. "I'm alive."
"Have you been eating?" Minseok questioned, concern lacing his tone.
"Eating enough." He responded vaguely as he looked down at the books. "To the nurse's office?"
"Yeah, Hina needs them." Minseok stated with a quiet sigh. He could tell Taehyun wasn't really taking care of himself, he was just going through the motions; however, he was grateful to see the artist was outside the art room doing something other than painting.
They quietly walked to the nurse's office. Once they arrived, Hina greeted them. She was equally surprised to see Taehyun, but he didn't seem to want to talk as he was quick to drop off the books and make his exit.
"I was surprised to see Taehyun helping you." She spoke as she opened one of the books that Taehyun had set down.
"I was equally surprised when he offered help to me." He responded as he set his stack of books down on the desk.
"Maybe he is finally starting to feel better...you know, after Kitt..." She trailed off, not wanting to bring up the heavy topic.
"We can only hope so, once he is emotionally stable we can finally move from this gawd awful school." He stated as he looked at the shattered window behind Hina. "Oh, I talked to the detectives. Seojun said the same thing you did about..." He leaned towards her and whispered. "Yongrae."
"He agrees?" She asked.
"Yeah, we discussed discreetly keeping an eye on him. Since nobody interacts with him, we are going to get everyone in on it." He stated.
"Alright, sounds good." She nodded her head.
Minseok approached the broken window as his thoughts drifted to Taehyun. The surroundings were beginning to get overcrowded with lurkers', the sight was a bit unsettling. If they stayed much longer they wouldn't be able to escape. "Taehyun, I hope you are ready. We might not be able to wait for you for too much longer."