Chapter Text
Two months.
This whole ordeal had only been going on for two months, and yet, the difference between the world two months ago and the world now was… astounding.
It had started off gradually, but that had only lasted for about a week. The news had reported a few deaths here and there, and the fact that no doctors had been able to figure out the cause before losing the patient hadn’t been too concerning.
But then those few deaths turned into several. And the next day, a hundred more people were in the hospital with the same symptoms. The day after, three hundred. A thousand. Five thousand.
Each day, the number of people affected by this mystifying disease multiplied so tremendously until the leaders of the world had no choice but to label it an ‘Epidemic.’
But the scariest part was, no doctor in the entire world had any clue what it was. They could figure out neither the cause nor the cure, and every single person who showed up in a hospital with those symptoms ended up dying just a couple of days later.
Two months since the first news report hit, and the world’s population was less than half of what it used to be. You knew of fifteen deaths on your street alone, and only twenty-two people lived on it. And probably most of the people left would start showing symptoms any day now.
Needless to say, you were terrified. There was a raging epidemic sweeping the world, and there was nothing you could do about it. Nothing anyone could do to stop it.
And then, two days ago, your terror had turned to absolute anguish.
Both of your parents had woken up that morning with a fever, the first symptom of this disease. They had tried to assuage your worries, saying it was just the flu or a bad cold.
But then the hives appeared on their chest, neck, and arms. The second symptom of the disease. Again, they had tried to reassure you, telling you that hydrocortisone cream would help, and they would be fine by the next morning.
Unsurprisingly, the next morning arrived, and they were not fine.
Their fevers were at an all-time high. The hives had spread across their entire bodies. And they were starting to cough up blood. Still, though, your mom tried her best to stay positive. You were freaking out, of course, and your dad had given up hope by this point.
It wasn’t until today, just about an hour ago, that your mom finally succumbed to reality and told you to leave. You still had no fever or any signs of sickness, and there was nothing you could do to save them. There was no point in staying.
So, you were currently filling a backpack with… whatever you could fit, really. Some clothes, necessary toiletries, a blanket, a flashlight. You dressed in comfortable clothes and the waterproof boots you always wore when it snowed. And you did all of this while sobbing uncontrollably.
You were losing your parents. Once you left, you would never see them again. Ever.
But even if you stayed here, you would never see them again. And the epidemic was now so widespread and rampant, you couldn’t even call a hospital to come and take them away. Even after they…
You couldn’t even say it. You could barely think about them not being a part of your life, even though it was happening. Right now.
Once you hefted the backpack onto your shoulders, you tried your best to wipe your face of tears and snot, and you trudged into your parent’s room.
They were almost gone by now, both of them in and out of consciousness. Thankfully, they still recognized you, and when you appeared in their doorway, your mother waved you over to the side of the bed.
You shuffled in, sniffling and feeling the hot tears press against the back of your eyes. Your throat was closing, and when you reached her, your mom took your hand.
“You’ll be all right,” she croaked. “If you were going to catch this, you would have by now. Just stay as safe as you can, okay, baby?”
You nodded, letting out a single sob and reaching up to wipe your eyes.
“Please remember –” your father murmured. “We will always love you. So, so much, pumpkin.”
The use of your father’s nickname for you only made the lump of emotion in your throat get bigger, and you let out another sob. “I love you, too,” you replied as best as you could.
You began to lean down to kiss their foreheads, but before you got the chance, they both erupted into another spasmodic coughing fit. Within seconds, blood would begin pouring from their mouths… and both of them would probably be gone within a couple of hours.
I guess now is as good a time as any to leave.
You choked out a final ‘goodbye’ as you stumbled backward out of their bedroom… and when you reached the door, you turned on your heel and made a run for it.
You practically fell down the stairs and tumbled through the front door, tears streaming down your face and blurring your vision. The hard thud of your feet against the pavement was really the only way you knew you’d made it outside; you were sobbing too hard to be fully aware of your surroundings.
Just after you’d made it to your front lawn, you suddenly ran into something large and firm enough to knock you to the ground. You heard a very deep grunt, and that jolted you out of your emotional haze enough to look up and see…
“Oh,” you breathed, once again wiping the tears from your eyes and face so you could see better. “Sorry.”
“Just watch where you’re going next time,” Jaebum muttered.
Jaebum was your next-door neighbor and had been for years now. Despite that, you barely knew anything about him. The guy was a brick wall, physically and emotionally. The times you’d tried to strike up a conversation while you were both out getting the mail, he’d just barely reciprocated. You’d stopped trying about three years ago.
“There… won’t be a next time,” you choked out. “My – my parents – I… I’m leaving.”
You pushed yourself off the ground, dusting the grass off your pants, and before you could even look up at him, he responded with, “Yeah. Me too.”
You paused, your breath catching in your throat as your gaze darted up to his face. “Oh, no,” you murmured. “I’m so sorry.”
Jaebum just shrugged, barely meeting your eye.
Well… you knew it was a long shot, but if you were both leaving…
“Should we… go together? Just so we’re not alone? It’ll probably increase our chances of survival if we’re together, and –”
“Yeah, sure.”
Your head jerked back in surprise.
You hadn’t expected him to accept your offer at all, but so quickly? And without any sort of disdain in his voice?
…Okay, come to think of it, you must look absolutely awful right now. Your face was most definitely red and puffy from crying, and your parents were literally on the brink of death.
So, he obviously felt sorry for you. He was taking pity on his next-door neighbor of too many years to remember, and the two of you would most likely go your separate ways after he reached his patience threshold with you.
But… for now… you had someone.
“All – all right, then,” you said with a nod. “Let’s… go.”
Jaebum slid one hand into his pocket and took out a set of keys, jingling them slightly. “We can take my car as far as we can until it runs out of gas, and then we can go on foot.”
“Sounds good,” you replied, your voice getting quieter. The longer you stood here, the more you were thinking about what exactly was happening inside. Were they still alive? Shouldn’t you stay with them until they…? I mean, if it were you, wouldn’t you want the person you loved most in the world by your side as you…?
“Y/N,” Jaebum said sharply, making it obvious it wasn’t the first time he’d said it. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Sorry,” you breathed. You clutched the straps of your backpack and forced your body to move, to follow Jaebum to the parked car in his driveway.
Within minutes, the two of you were sitting silently in the car, Jaebum driving with intense focus down the empty streets of your town. You had forced yourself not to look in the side mirror as he’d driven away from your home, but that hadn’t stopped more tears from spilling from your eyes.
You were trying to cry as quietly as you could, but after about five minutes, Jaebum sighed and leaned over to open the passenger-side glove compartment. He took out a bandana and tossed it gently into your lap.
“Thank you,” you murmured, taking the piece of fabric and wiping your cheeks and nose.
“Could you maybe try to keep it down?” he muttered, and your brow immediately furrowed. You snapped your watery gaze over to the driver’s seat, your jaw dropping slightly.
“Excuse me?” you asked with a chuckle of disbelief. “I – I just walked away from my dying parents! I just left the house I grew up in! I’ll never see any of it again! Ever! I think it’s normal to be pretty sad in this kind of situation!”
You could have sworn you saw Jaebum roll his eyes, but you told yourself you’d just imagined it. There was no way he was that heartless.
“If you recall, I’m going through exactly the same thing. Do you see me blubbering away over here?”
“People grieve differently!” you retorted.
Instead of arguing back, Jaebum simply pressed his lips together and continued driving.
Once you’d dried your cheeks and managed to stave off another round of tears, you folded the bandana up and slipped it into your pants pocket. You would surely need it later, and Jaebum probably didn’t want it back now that it was covered in your tears and snot.
Since you didn’t want things to get more awkward than they already were, you cleared your throat gently and asked, “Where are we going?”
Jaebum opened his mouth to reply… but then he closed it. He shrugged.
“I have no idea,” he admitted after a few moments.
And you couldn’t even be annoyed with him because… you didn’t, either.
“Should we find a nearby hospital?” you suggested. “See if there’s anything we can do to –”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
Your forehead wrinkled slightly, and the corners of your mouth turned down into a frown. “Yeah, but maybe we could at least –”
“Didn’t you watch any of the news before it stopped? The doctors can’t do anything. How could we help when people with actual medical degrees can’t?”
“But –”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Jaebum repeated with gritted teeth.
You simply raised your eyebrows and turned to look out the window.
Okay, then.
As you focused on the passing scenery, you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking about it, though. Even if you couldn’t help with anything on the medical side, maybe you could help clean up? Or help properly dispose of the bodies?
Okay, you probably couldn’t do that. Your stomach was too sensitive for it.
But, still! It’s not like yours had been a terrible idea. Yet Jaebum had made it seem like it had been exactly that.
Ugh.
Whatever.
The awkward silence lasted for at least five minutes, and while you weren’t planning on breaking it anytime soon… Jaebum did.
“We can just… keep driving until we can’t anymore. We’ll find a place to stay for the night and come up with a game plan then. Okay?”
His voice was much softer now, though you certainly wouldn’t call it ‘soft’ by any means. It was just softer than it had been when he’d grumbled at you. So, at least, maybe he was trying? And if he was trying, you should, too. The two of you were most likely going to be stuck together for… Well, we’ll just say indefinitely. You would be stuck together indefinitely. And things would be much easier if you guys got along, even if it was just the tiniest bit.
“Okay,” you replied in just above a whisper. “Sounds good.”
You weren’t looking at him, but out of the corner of your eye, you saw him nod.
And that was enough to keep the awkwardness at bay.
At least… for now.