JI-A'S HEART DROPPED at the sight of her brother, who she could barely recognize. As soon as his lifeless eyes met hers, her knees went weak and she almost dropped to the ground if it wasn't for Chae-sol acting quick to catch her. Gwi-nam then dropped the zombie boy, tossing him to the ground harshly. Ji-a didn't even realize she was crying. Her body was hot with anger. She suddenly lunged for Gwi-nam, swinging at his face and to no surprise, not harming him at all.

The bully grabbed a fistful of Ji-a's hair, making her yelp as he tilted her head up so he could look her in the face. "You're pretty," he smirked, tracing a finger down her face. A tear ran down Ji-a's face as he tightened the grip in her hair. "Don't touch her!" Su-hyeok ran up, but Gwi-nam was stronger and easily pushed Su-hyeok on to the ground. Gwi-nam spotted Cheong-san and threw Ji-a to the floor, right next to a zombie. The zombie crawled on top of her as she used the little strength she had to fight for her life against it, until Su-hyeok kicked it, making it roll over.

The boy grabbed Ji-a's shoulders, helping her up. "Are you okay?" he asked. The girl was so out of it that she didn't respond as more zombies came up the stairs and Su-hyeok had to continue fighting. "Unnie!" Chae-sol cried, grabbing at Ji-a's uniform and trying her best to drag her up the stairs away from the zombies. Ji-a tripped up the steps, whimpering as her whole body ached. She crawled until her back was on the roof's door, panting heavily.

Su-hyeok fought the zombies and Cheong-san struggled against Gwi-nam until Nam-ra ran up, wrapping her hand around Gwi-nam'a throat. "What the hell? Shit," Gwi-nam clawed at her hands, gasping for air. "Why won't you die?" Nam-ra gritted her teeth before tossing Gwi-nam down to the floor beneath, making him land on the tarp. Suddenly, a loud alarm went off, making Ji-a's hands shoot to her already-ringing ears.

"Guys! The door's open!" On-jo cried, motioning to the door. On-jo opened the door fully and everybody began to rush through it. Wu-jin helped Ji-a up, dragging her outside. The kids were met with strong winds and all looked up to see a chopper leaving the roof. "It's a chopper!" Joon-yeong yelled. "Hey!" They all began to jump up and down, waving their hands and screaming. Ji-a watched as the chopper grew farther and farther away and the group stopped screaming.

Ji-a took a deep breath, realizing that was probably their only chance of getting saved. She felt her legs getting weak again, so she sank down to the ground, putting her hands on her knees and leaning forward. And she began to cry. She cried the hardest she's ever cried before. "Ji-a," a voice came from above her and she felt an embrace on her shoulders. She looked up, her eyes meeting with Su-hyeok's as he began to wipe the rushing tears off her face.

"I'm... s-so tired. I want it... to be... over," she spoke through choked sobs. "I know, I know," he took her in his arms, stroking her hair to comfort her. "Why did... he have to d-die? I can't... I don't know if I can g-go on, Su-Su-hyeok," she cried into his shirt. "Yes, you can, Ji-a. You're such a strong girl. You have to go on. For Chae-sol, On-jo, and Nam-ra. Please don't give up right now. You've already made it so far," he held on to her tightly as if he were to let go, she would dissolve into thin air. "I can't lose you, Ji-a," he mumbled into her shoulder quietly, but she still heard it.

Making both of the kids jump, loud bangs came from the other side of the door. Cheong-san jumped up, startled from the banging. All of the kids turned to the door and listened until the banging finally stopped. "He's gone," Nam-ra said. "What the hell?" Dae-su shuddered. Su-hyeok began to climb off the floor, holding up Ji-a with him. "Who's gone?" he asked Nam-ra. "Yoon Gwi-nam. It's his smell. I hear his breathing too," she spoke so casually as if she didn't have superhuman abilities. Ji-a looked up at Su-hyeok, still clung onto him as he slid his eyes down to hers and they both give each other a side-eye, taking a deep breath.

Everyone had decided to make a SOS sign with various items scattered on the roof. Joon-yeong climbed up on a platform to instruct them on what to do. "How does it look?" On-jo asked. "The "O" is a bit narrow," he responded. "He said the "O" is too narrow. Ji-a, hand me that long one," Wu-jin motioned to the piece of woof next to her, to which she quickly handed him. "It should be much bigger than this," On-jo stated. "And the "S" is too short," Joon-yeong pointed. After around twenty minutes, the sign was finally done. "Come take a look. We did a good job," Dae-su called everyone over. They all gathered in front of the sign, taking in their work. "You can't miss it," Joon-yeong nodded. "We did do a good job," Wu-jin agreed.

"What does SOS mean?" Dae-su asked. "It's a distress signal," On-jo answered. "I know that. But what does it stand for?" the boy questioned. "It doesn't stand for anything. SOS is just SOS," On-jo informed. "That makes no sense," Dae-su shook his head. "That's just how it is. It has no meaning," she sighed. "Wait... Rescue quickly. Speed of save... Save?" he asked. "Why'd you ask if you don't even believe me?" On-jo scoffed. "I thought you'd know," he said. "I do know. Look it up. You'll see I'm right," she told him. "Whatever. How can I look it up? I don't even have my phone," Dae-su shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Cheong-san stepped into the conversation. "I asked On-jo what SOS meant, but she said it has no meaning," Dae-su explained. "Just say you don't know," he furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the girl. "It's true," she told him. "It's true," Cheong-san agreed. "It is?" Dae-su asked. "Yes. She's right. Why don't you believe her?" Cheong-san nodded. "Hey, Prez. What does SOS mean?" Dae-su made his way over to Nam-ra. "Why, that-" On-jo shot up from her seat and Cheong-san rushed over to her to calm her down. On-jo ended up kicking him in the back of his leg. "The sun's about to set. Let's start a fire," she suggested to everybody.

The kids made a pile of wood and gathered around in a circle on the ground. On-jo was the first to attempt to start the fire, but she got tired after a few minutes. "Next," she spoke, moving away from the wood to let the next person try. Joon-yeong sat where she got up from and copied her movements. twisting the wood quickly. "You'll get tired. Slow down," Dae-su told him. "The fire won't start if he does it slowly," Wu-jin hit Dae-su in the arm. "Do it faster. Come on. Faster. Twist it faster," Dae-su began barking at Joon-yeong. Suddenly, Joon-yeong dropped the wood and grabbed his hand, groaning. "Did it cramp?" Dae-su asked. "My palms. I can't do it," he replied.

"I'll do it. Step back," Dae-su offered, taking Joon-yeong's place, but he did it very slowly. "Oh my god, we're going to freeze to death," Ji-a groaned, throwing her head back. "Should we kill him?" Wu-jin looked over at Joon-yeong. "Are you praying? Don't pray. Rub... Get lost," Wu-jin pushed Dae-su away from the wood. "It's hard. It won't work," Dae-su told him, but Wu-jin tried anyways. "Isn't that smoke?" Joon-yeong pointed. "Smoke! Su-hyeok!" Dae-su exclaimed. Su-hyeok grabbed the wood piece and bent down, blowing on it carefully as the other boys yelled at him.

"Did it catch on fire, Su-hyeok?" Joon-yeong asked. "Fuck," Su-hyeok groaned. He then sat up, taking Wu-jin's place and twisting the wood himself. "Hey," Nam-ra uttered, grabbing the group's attention. "Use this," she pulled a lighter out of her pocket. Everybody froze and stared at her in disbelief. "I smoke," she added. "You had that all along..." Wu-jin breathed. "You don't want it?" she asked. Ji-a reached up, snatching it out of her hand and giving it over to Su-hyeok. "Thank you, Nam-ra," Ji-a looked up at her, to which Nam-ra nodded.

Night had fallen and all of the kids were sat in a circle around the blazing fire. Ji-a sat with Chae-sol to her left and Su-hyeok to her right. Her head was on Su-hyeok's shoulder and his arm was around both of the girls, a blanket they found spread across them. "Dae-su. How was your audition?" Su-hyeok asked. "They told me to lose weight," Dae-su responded. "You're a good singer. Sing for us. I want to hear it," Su-hyeok told him. "Forget it. I don't want to sing," Dae-su shook his head. "I really like that song," Joon-yeong said. "You do?" Dae-su put his head up. "It's really nice," Joon-yeong nodded.

"You sing well," Su-hyeok complimented. Dae-su cleared his throat before beginning to sing, everybody softlty swaying their bodies to his voice. Just then, Ji-min and Hyo-ryung joined in. Ji-a and Chae-sol joined as well, then Su-hyeok and Wu-jin until the whole group except On-jo and Nam-ra was singing. "What a nice song," Hyo-ryung smiled when the song came to an end. "You said it sucked," Dae-su glared at her. "Now that I actually listened to it, I think it's nice," she explained. "That was encouraging, Dae-su," Wu-jin spoke. "Yeah, it made me feel better," Chae-sol grinned.

"When did you start smoking?" On-jo asked Nam-ra, loud enough for the whole group to hear. "Does it matter?" Ji-a asked. "It's okay, Ji-a. Since the eighth grade. I had no friends and no outlet to relieve stress," Nam-ra explained. "Did you ever need a friend?" On-jo asked. "I'm not sure," Nam-ra responded. "I can't tell," the president sighed. "You always put up a wall. You always wore earphones and never said a word. Wasn't it because you didn't like us?" On-jo questioned.

"I never disliked you guys. I just... didn't have any friends," Nam-ra answered. "To be honest, I didn't like you. Because I thought you didn't talk to us because we were beneath you. You only ever talked to Ji-a," Hyo-ryung spoke. "To be honest, there were times when I wished you weren't around," Joon-yeong admitted. Ji-a let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. How could they be so cruel? "Aren't you two close? You're the top two students in our school," Ji-min asked.

"That's why I hated her. No matter how hard I tried, I was always second. But it's okay now. I think I was able to come in second thanks to Nam-ra," Joon-yeong nodded. "Hey. Second place is good too. I can't even come in 20th in our class. Right?" Dae-su reached over to give Su-hyeok a fist bump. "Don't compare yourself to Joon-yeong," Hyo-ryung scolded. "I was just saying. Why do you always jump down my throat when I say something?" Dae-su sighed, before his eyes widened. "Do you like me?" he asked the girl. "Screw you!" she hit his shoulder.

"I'll put it out there so you don't get hurt. I like someone else. So don't like me," Dae-su told her. "I don't like you. I'm not interested at all," Hyo-ryung hit him twice more. "Dae-su. Who do you like?" Joon-yeong asked. "He's a total freak," Wu-jin shook his head. "His sister," Su-hyeok pointed to Wu-jin. "Ha-ri unnie?" Ji-a gasped, sitting up. "Ha-ri unnie from archery?" Ji-min asked. Dae-su smiled. "You're insane," Ji-min scoffed. "I go crazy when I'm in love. She's like Cupid in my eyes," Dae-su shrugged.

"Stop it. If we get out of here alive, I'll tell my sister," Wu-jin threatened. "Will you really?" Dae-su asked. "Yes. To shoot and kill you. I said not to like my sister," Wu-jin nodded. "Brother-in-law. You can't do that to me," Dae-su reached over to grab Wu-jin. "You hog!" Wu-jin struggled in Dae-su's grip. "Will you tell her?" he asked. "To kill you," Wu-jin muttered. "Don't do that. Seriously. I love her," Dae-su put him in a headlock. "Stop it!" Wu-jin whined.

They finally stopped fighting and the group fell into silence until Ji-min decided to break it. "My mom and dad prepared everything for my transfer. They said to just go to Seoul. But I really didn't want to go. I wouldn't have any friends, and I was afraid of Seoul kids. I didn't know what to do. Then On-jo gave me a great idea. She said to cut school for five days. Then the principal couldn't write a recommendation. That's why I cut school. It's all thanks to On-jo that I didn't transfer," Ji-min spoke. On-jo put up a peace sign at the last sentence. "I should've just gone. Then this wouldn't have happened to me," Ji-min sighed. On-jo put down her peace sign, pursing her lips.

"My sister was told she was an archery prodigy ever since she was a child. So our family only cared about whether or not she made it onto the national team. They gave me no attention," Wu-jin admitted. "I give you attention, brother-in-law. Don't be sad, you have me-" Dae-su was cut off by Wu-jin pushing him onto his back. "Thank God I have Dae-su," he withered a laugh. "I don't really have anything to say. I wouldn't really know... but I feel like I made friends," Nam-ra looked over at Ji-a and Chae-sol, then On-jo with a smile on her face.

Cheong-san took a deep breath before speaking. "On-jo and I... Actually, um... I just- I just want some water," Cheong-san changed the topic. "Not things like that. Be honest," Hyo-ryung told him. "Be completely honest. Do you like someone?" Dae-su asked Cheong-san, causing everybody's heads to turn to the boy. "Yes," he nodded. "Really? You do?" On-jo asked, a bit of hurt in her voice. "Yes," he nodded again. "Why are you stalling? Is it a crush?" the girl asked. "Pretty much," he answered. "Pretty much? What does that mean?" she questioned. "Who is she?" On-jo smirked.

"No one," Cheong-san furrowed his eyebrows. "Who is she?" On-jo whined, dragging out the 'e'. "Do I know her? Who?" she giggled. "You," Cheong-san said. Ji-a was about to scream until Su-hyeok noticed her body language and put a hand over her mouth to stop her, her scream being muffled in his hand. "You, On-jo. I like you," Cheong-san repeated. "Hey. Stop that. He doesn't mean that. He's just kidding. We were friends and neighbors since kindergarten, that's all," On-jo rushfully explained to the group before turning back to Cheong-san.

"Stop joking," she told him. "I'm not joking. I've liked you every day for the past twelve years since we were six years old. And I'll continue to," he truthfully told her. "Shocking," Dae-su whispered. Suddenly, On-jo abruptly stood up, walking away. Ji-a stood up as well, getting ready to walk over to On-jo until Su-hyeok grabbed her wrist. "Cheong-san," Su-hyeok motioned for him to go over to the girl.

"You stay here," Su-hyeok told Ji-a as she watched Cheong-san walk over to On-jo. "How about no? I want fresh air, too. I'm getting hot," Ji-a glared at him before going to an opposite corner of the roof than On-jo. "Dude, what are you doing? Cheong-san told his girl, go tell yours," Wu-jin hit Su-hyeok's shoulder harshly. The boy sighed, getting up and covering Chae-sol with the blanket, before walking over to Ji-a.

He came up behind her, leaning his hands on the ledge just like she did and looking at the stars. She slowly turned his head over to him. "You know, I hate when people tell me it's not a big deal," Ji-a broke the silence. "Huh?" he looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows. "What you said earlier. In the music room. I wouldn't be making a big deal out of it if it wasn't in the first place," she explained. Su-hyeok suddenly remembered and he took a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry, Ji-a. I shouldn't have said that. I know you hate getting told that," he began to apologize. "That's all the other kids here ever told me when Gyeong-su was getting beat up by boys twice our age. That's all teachers ever told me when he was called a welfie. That's all you ever told me at first when you decided to change and become friends with him. But it's not a big deal, especially since he's dead now, right?" the girl's voice cracked at the end. She bit her lip, she didn't want to cry. She was so sick of crying.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. She turned her whole body to face him. "I know Nam-ra likes you. And I saw her kiss you. I let the jealousy win. And I'm so sorry, Ji-a. It won't happen again," he grabbed her hands. "I forgive you. It's not a big deal," Ji-a said. Su-hyeok froze before Ji-a began laughing hysterically and when he realized she was joking, he let out a nervous laugh.

"You know, I never really liked you that much - but it's nice to have your company right now," she smiled. "Hey! You know words hurt, Han Ji-a," he fake pouted, making her giggle. "But, seriously, I don't have to worry about Nam-ra taking you away from me?" he asked. "Nam-ra's a good friend. She wants me to be happy, even if it's not with her. I love her," Ji-a admitted, playing with Su-hyeok's hands. "You love her?" his eyebrows raised. "In a friend way, yes, I love her," she nodded, laughing a bit.

The two fell into silence, looking at the stars. "It's so pretty. I love the stars," she sighed happily, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "I'm in love with you," Su-hyeok blurted. Ji-a whipped her head to look at him. "W.. What?" her mouth hung open. "I'm so in love with you, Ji. I have been for years," he told her. "Su-hyeok..." she started. "It's okay. I just wanted to tell you before we die," he smiled. Ji-a let go of his hands, making his smile drop. She took a deep breath before reaching up to grab his face and smashing her lips onto his. The sudden kiss took Su-hyeok by surprise but he soon caught on, burying his hands in her hair. The girl trailed her hands down to the sides of his neck, pulling him closer. He walked forward until her back hit the wall, making her hum into the kiss. The kiss sped up and deepened as Su-hyeok's hands fell, gripping her waist. "You don't know -- how long -- Oh, god," he mumbled in between kisses. His lips trailed down her jaw, making their way onto her neck. "Su-hyeok," she gasped, tilting her head to give him more access. "You're so fucking beautiful," he mumbled into her neck.

The kids were so caught up in what they were doing that they didn't notice Gwi-nam had somehow got on the roof and had On-jo in his grasp until she let out a bone-chilling scream. Su-hyeok and Ji-a pulled apart, turning towards the sound and spotting Gwi-nam with On-jo. "On-jo!" Ji-a cried, pushing Su-hyeok out of the way and running over to her best friend. Gwi-nam noticed the girl and let go of On-jo, grabbing onto her friend by her neck instead. Ji-a let out a yelp as she was lifted off the ground and felt the air leave her lungs and the screams from the group became muffled. She was going to die. She didn't want to die. She had come so far.

author's note !

THE SPICE... dw they were not getting watched when they were making out lmfaoooo and no jia isn't going to die

why do you guys never interact w my chapters😒 i see i have 400 views with like 20 comments like wtf 🙁 i love yall who interact tho <3333