Logic Vs Hope (All Of Us Are Dead)

WU-JIN'S POV:

We stood outside our old school, the once-familiar grounds now eerily silent. It felt surreal, like a ghost of the life we had before.

"So... where do we even start?" Mi-jin asked, breaking the heavy silence.

"We should head back to the camp first, gather our stuff. We're about to go to a whole different country..." I trailed off, the weight of our mission sinking in.

"Okay! Let's go! We can catch an airplane!" Dae-su said excitedly.

I turned to stare at him.

"Dummy! All the pilots are either dead or zombies!" I smacked the back of his head.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU SLAP ME, BROTHER-IN-LAW?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING FUCKING STUPID!"

Everyone went quiet.

Mi-jin sighed, stretching her arms. "Well... I guess we just head to the camp."

We set off into the woods, the dense trees making the path feel even darker than usual. As we walked, I kept thinking about Da-rae. Is she okay? Did she make it?

"Sis," I finally said, looking at Ha-ri.

"Yeah?" she replied without looking at me.

"Do you think Da-rae's okay?"

Ha-ri stopped walking and turned to me with a deadpan expression.

"Wu-jin, this is the fourth time you've asked me this today."

I blinked. "I know, I just—"

Then she burst out laughing.

"I'm messing with you, idiot! She's probably kicking ass like always!"

I let out a relieved breath, but of course, Dae-su had to ruin the moment.

"Yeah! Your girlfriend is fine!" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I told you, she's not my—"

"Before you say ANYTHING! Da-rae is your girlfriend, so I can call her that!" he grinned.

I sighed. "Wow, real smooth, Dae-su. Like butter."

I kept my face neutral, but inside, my stomach was twisting up. I just wanted to see her again.

Then, out of nowhere—I tripped.

"Goddamn it, brother-in-law! You're so clumsy!" Dae-su cackled.

Da-rae’s voice echoed in my mind: "Why do you always fall so much?"

I groaned, getting up. "Shut up."

Then my eyes caught something—a heart carved into a tree.

Everyone stopped.

"Who do you think did that?" On-jo wondered.

I recognized it instantly.

I knew exactly who carved it.

(Beginning of Junior Year - Flashback)

The classroom buzzed with excitement on the first day back.

"Hey, Wu-jin!" Da-rae practically bounced over to me, her smile bright.

I swallowed hard.

Why is her smile so damn cute?

"Why are you staring out the window like that?" she asked, tilting her head.