Chang Da-rae's POV:
Lunchtime flew by quickly. On-jo, I-sak, and I sat together at our usual table, surrounded by the lively chatter of the cafeteria.
"We have tonkatsu today! I'm starving!" I grinned, my stomach growling in agreement.
I-sak laughed. "When are you not hungry?"
As I reached for my tray, I noticed On-jo staring off into the distance. Curious, I nudged her. "Who are you looking at?"
"Probably Cheong-san," I-sak teased with a knowing smirk.
On-jo's face turned red. "I wasn't looking at him!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Then who were you looking at?"
I-sak grinned. "Oh, please. The whole school knows you and Cheong-san are basically dating."
"We are not dating!" On-jo huffed, crossing her arms.
"Then why are you always together?" I challenged playfully.
"Because we've been best friends and neighbors since kindergarten!" she insisted.
I-sak still wasn't buying it. "Mhm. Sure. Then why are you acting so secretive?"
On-jo hesitated, glancing around before lowering her voice. "Okay, but you both have to promise not to tell anyone."
I-sak and I leaned in eagerly. "What is it?" I asked.
"Never mind," On-jo muttered, shaking her head.
"Oh, come on!" I whined.
"Shh!" On-jo hissed, looking around anxiously.
(Silence.)
Then, out of nowhere, I-sak blurted, "You slept with Cheong-san, didn't you?" before bursting into laughter.
I shot her a look. "What is wrong with you?"
On-jo turned bright red. "Are you two insane?!" she squeaked, swatting at us.
I-sak just grinned. "So what's the big secret?"
On-jo hesitated, then sighed. "I... told Su-hyeok I like him."
My jaw dropped. "Wait... WHAT?!"
"You what?!" I-sak nearly shouted, eyes wide.
"Shhh! Keep your voices down!" On-jo panicked.
I looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Are you crazy?" Then, after a pause, I smirked. "I mean, you could do better. But if Su-hyeok had bangs, I might understand."
"Excuse me? Stay loyal to Wu-jin!" she teased.
I scoffed. "We're not dating."
"Yet."
"We never will! Not even in a zombie apocalypse."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Back to your confession, On-jo," I-sak said, eyes twinkling. "How did you do it? Did you ask him out?"
On-jo fiddled with her food. "I... used my name tag."
I-sak blinked. "So you basically threw yourself at him."
"I did what Da-rae would do!" On-jo defended.
"Hey! I'm right here," I said, laughing.
I-sak nudged me. "Speaking of... You need to ask Wu-jin out before it's too late."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I waved her off, but my heart sped up at the thought.
Wu-jin's POV:
"Moron, have you told her yet?" Su-hyeok asked, staring at me.
"Told who what?" I replied casually.
"Have you told Da-rae you like her, moron?"
I scratched my head. "Not yet. Probably tomorrow."
Su-hyeok rolled his eyes. "You've been saying that for two weeks."
Joon-yeong smirked. "Yeah, why do you like her so much, anyway?"
"Why do you care?" I shot back defensively.
Dae-su held up his hands. "Whoa, chill."
I sighed, looking out the window. "She's smart. Pretty. Talented. Funny. A great fighter. Creative. She's ho-"
"WHAT?!"
We all turned toward the sudden outburst.
Chang Da-rae's POV:
"Is there a way to get seconds?" I asked On-jo, still hungry.
"How are you this hungry?" On-jo shook her head, amused.
As On-jo and Cheong-san had their little moment, my eyes drifted to Wu-jin and Dae-su, deep in conversation.
"What are they talking about?" I wondered aloud.
Curious, I made my way over. "Hey, Wu-jin!"
His face lit up. "Hey, Rae!"
Dae-su smirked. "Ooooh, he gave her a nickname."
Wu-jin groaned. "It's not a big deal."
"What were you guys talking about?" I asked.
"My little Cupid," Dae-su answered with a grin.
Wu-jin rolled his eyes. "I told you to stop calling her that."
"Who's 'Cupid'?" I asked.
"My sister. Ha-ri."
My eyes widened. "Wait. Jang Ha-ri?!"
"Yeah...?"
"She's literally my idol!" I gushed.
Before Wu-jin could respond, chaos erupted.
A loud crash. Screams. Glass shattered.
Everything went insane.
People started attacking each other. No-biting each other. Blood. Screaming. It felt like the entire cafeteria had lost its mind.
Adrenaline kicked in. I grabbed whatever I could-a tray, a pair of scissors-and fought back. My brain didn't have time to process what was happening. Just survive.
Wu-jin was right beside me, helping me fight our way out.
Suddenly, the sprinklers turned on, soaking us. Fantastic. Hours spent on my hair, gone. But now wasn't the time to be mad about that.
"Out the window!" Wu-jin yelled.
I grabbed his hand, and we ran.
We climbed onto a truck, using it as a boost to reach the second-floor window.
"Great idea!" Wu-jin shouted.
Just as we were about to climb in, a fire extinguisher flew past us, smashing into the wall.
Heart pounding, I scrambled inside. Wu-jin followed right behind.
---
As we ran through the halls, I spotted a classroom with familiar faces-Ji-min, Hyo-ryeong, I-sak, Joon-yeong, Gyeong-su, and Na-yeon.
"There!" I pointed.
We banged on the door.
"Don't let them in! They might be bitten!" Na-yeon's voice rang out.
Wu-jin groaned and threw open the window. "OPEN THE DOOR, MORONS!"
Joon-yeong peeked out. "It's Wu-jin and Da-rae! Let them in!"
The door swung open, and we rushed inside, slamming it shut.
I collapsed onto a chair, catching my breath. My limbs trembled with exhaustion.
Wu-jin knelt beside me. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," I panted. "Just tired."
Suddenly, I-sak threw her arms around me. "Da-rae! I thought I lost you!"
I hugged her back. "Yeah... me too."