Chapter Text
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.
What a bullshit...
Lee Eun-yu's world has already shattered three times before the real end happens, whenever that is. Shouldn’t the world end by now?
First, when her parents died in a car crash on their way to see a ballet recital (the one she begged them day and night to go to). What if haunting every breath she takes after that. It was her fault, what happened to Eomma and Appa. Eun-hyuk should think so too. He should hate her for ruining his life. He should hate her for making him an orphan too. But, he never did once blame her. He was so stupid. How could someone be that stupid?
Second, when she had to hang up her ballet shoes. Stupid mistake that lead to stupid career-ending injury make sure of that. All the shards of her broken dreams (and the guilt that never cease) make her what she is today. Jaded and nasty. Her tongue grew sharper, hurling up insult after insult to everyone that was (un)fortunate enough to encounter her.
And now, third, when Eun-hyuk...
Fresh waves of tears fell from her eyes again. Fuck! She roughly wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Why did she cry?
He broke his promise. He said he would get back safely. What a liar...
She wants to curse him for making her feel this way. She wants to hit him for breaking his promise. She wants to...
Say sorry for being a brat. Say sorry for pushing him away. Say sorry for the hardships he endured to keep her safe.
She wants to say she love him, the only brother she had in this life, the only one that was stupid enough to choose a girl like her as their sister.
She wants to say it all. But... Is it too late now?
Oppa...
He and Hyun-su should be best friends. Both breaking their promise to her. They are liars...
Sobs breaking out of her mouth, as memories of her last words to each of them play on her mind like a broken record.
Eun-yu didn't know how long time had passed when she felt someone bravely scoot closer to her, Ji-su, and put her arms around her. It's like she had a death wish. Any other time Eun-yu would lash out, baring her claw at anyone that dared to come near, itching to pick a fight. But today she just wants to cry. Her tears don’t want to stop. Why didn’t it stop? Fuck…
She burrowed her face into Ji-su's shoulder and closed her eyes. The darkness that surrounded her periphery got darker and darker when she heard a voice saying.
'Lee Eun-yu, what is your desire?'
She gasped and opened her eyes, as warm blood splattered across her face...
Eun-yu couldn’t believe what she saw. It’s either she’s gone mad or this is all is just a dream.
Gone was the tunnel along with Ji-su and the other survivors. The damp and cold ground was exchanged with woods.
This shouldn't be possible, her mind screaming at her, as she stared transfixed at Pyeon Sang-wook, the gangster ahjussi, while he beat up a monster with his feet. Just like what he did that night not long ago. He wore that same garish attire too.
She looked down at herself and saw she too was wearing the very same clothes as she wore that night. The clothes that should be buried under the rubble of what used to be called green homes.
This must be a dream.
But, could a dream be so vivid? The smell of the blood and the way it splattered on her skin felt too real to be a dream.
"Hey, kid!" his gruff voice snapped her out of her stupor. "Snap out of it,"
Snap out of it? His words echoed in her mind as she pinched her arm, and, geez, it hurt.
You couldn’t get hurt in a dream... Never…
She shucked a deep breath. This couldn’t be real. This place is gone now. But…
If this is real, a tiny voice that annoyingly sounds like hope whispered, then Oppa... is here.
“Oppa,” she breathed out, and with renewed vigor, she ran down the stairs as fast as she could. Her injured ankle doesn’t thank her for this. But frankly, she didn’t care.
Soon, the door was seen, and she wrenched it open, startling the people that gathered there.
She must look like a maniac, with her blood splattered face and heavy breath. Her eyes frantically scanned all the faces there to find her brother. Where is he?! Everyone gave her a wide berth, trying to keep their distance from her. Some even look ready to hit her with whatever things they could get their hands on.
“Eun-yu?” the familiar voice of her brother was heard, and for a moment her heart stopped. She never thought she would hear that jerk’s voice again.
She turned around and saw her stupid brother standing in front of her, wearing that stupid plaid shirt he love so much and stupid glasses (she really needed to find a better insult for him than stupid, honestly). He looked stoic to some, but she knew he was worried. She lived with him for years, she knew how to read him. That stupid brother of hers.
“Oppa,” she choked up, as she ran up to him and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He stiffened a little at the contact (probably wondering why bitchy brat Lee Eun-yu act like this), before promptly relaxing and put his arm around her. Unbidden tears fell rapidly from her eyes until she was a blubbering mess. “Oppa, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry for everything,"
“What’s wrong?” he asked calmly, thankfully not commenting on the fact that she called him, Oppa, again. It’s been so long since she called him that. His hand move to caress her hair gently. She felt like a little kid again, running to him when she had a nightmare, with Mr. Bunny clutched in her arms. Truth is, she misses this.
“You are a jerk,” for breaking your promise and leaving me, went unsaid, as she pulled away slightly and smacked him on the chest. She could see a wet patch on his plaid shirt courtesy of her tears. Stupid tears.
“Alright,” he huffed, a ghost of smile she miss hate so much appear on his face before it was gone and replaced with a stoic look, so fast that if she wasn’t his sister, she would miss it. “Are you hurt? What happened?” he continued, as he took off his plaid shirt and draped it around her shoulders.
“The end of the world is happening, Oppa,” she answered solemnly, and from the look in his eyes, her brother agreed with this too.
That night, she didn’t sleep.
“That’s why I’m saying I’ll go. Let me go. You can do whatever you want after I leave,” Mrs. Cha reasoned, and alright, Eun-yu understand her need to find her daughter, but at the same time, it was one of the most stupid decisions she ever heard.
“What about you? Are you okay with dying? Do you have plan? There's no internet or phone service. How can you be sure where she is?" her brother threw back at Mrs. Cha, each question rang with the truth. Everyone in this place knows that, including Mrs. Cha.
“You surely die if you step outside," she added dryly from where she sat clinging to her brother. He wisely doesn't comment about it.
“What?” Mrs. Cha’s previously crumpled face turned offended.
“What would you do if you encountered a monster? You can’t outrun it. You have no place to hide. You have no weapon to fight it. The only thing you could do is die," she spat, her eyes sharp as she look at Mrs. Cha in the eye. "What happens when your daughter back and she find out you died trying to find her. The guilt will eat her alive. If you want to save your daughter, you need to be alive first," Her words were harsh, but she needed Mrs. Cha to understand.
The tension was running thick in the air. For a moment she thought Mrs. Cha would slap her for saying the truth, until the soldier guy (she forgot who his name was) spoke up and tried to diffuses the situation.
"Please calm down and help us," he opened a bottle of water and offered it to Mrs. Cha. "I'll be sure to help you later,"
No wonder people say good people die young. Eun-yu may not remember who this guy's name was, but she remembered he would die tomorrow alongside Mrs. Cha's daughter when all he tried to do was help.
Mrs. Cha, in her frustration, pushed the bottle away. Her scream was echoed on the wall as she walked away. "Do whatever you want!"
Eun-yu sighed and jumped off of the table. They are running out of time. They have no time for this squabble. If they want to survive, they need to move fast.
"We need weapon," she opened her mouth to say, as she locked eyes with everyone present before it landed on her brother. "We are going to die if we go on as we now,"
"Kid, stop saying things like that,"
"Stop scaring people,"
"Don't make things worse. We are all afraid here,"
"Just let the adult handle it. You are just-
"A kid?" she cuts them off, rolling her eyes in the process. Ah, what a bullshit. Age has nothing to do with this. Why adults like to use their age as leverage? It's annoying. "It's better being a kid than an adult who whines at the slightest inconvenience like you all are,"
"You-
"Where could we get weapons? We are trapped here," her brother interjected before she could turn this supposed civil discussion into a brawl. His expression was grim when he looked at her. She could imagine wheels were turning in his head, calculating everything.
"Han Du-sik Ahjussi in room 1408 could make it for us. We just have to get to him,"
Eun-yu was going to use every last piece of knowledge she had to save her brother, Hyun-su and anyone that could be saved. Fuck, if this is a second chance, she, Lee Eun-yu refused to fail this time around.