Shelter

The branch snapped in half and I came down with great force.

*THUD*

My back burned as if it had caught on fire and I couldn't move.

*A few months ago*

"Anyone there?" Called out Sangchul, keeping me right behind him. When we reached the crooked doorway, Sangchul kicked the wooden door open, scaring the nearby birds.

"What the hell Sangchul!" I whispered. "Why'd you do that?!"

"Nobody was responding!"

"So you kick their door open?!"

"Forget it. Let's go in." Sangchul carefully entered the cabin, I followed close by. It was almost nighttime, so it was close to impossible to see inside.

"Let me turn the flashlight on my phone on." I reached inside my pocket and grabbed my phone. The light emitting from the phone revealed the condition inside of the cabin. There was a small table with chairs toppled on the floor. The walls were lined with crooked cabinets, and the floor was in awful shape. To the right was a small room, nothing inside it but an old chest and a bookcase. The whole place looked like it hadn't been touched in ages.

"We should camp out in here," stated Sangchul, "maybe find something to eat too."

"Fine, but we should sleep under the table for protection. The whole roof could cave on us." We hurried over and move the table to the sturdiest part of the floor. Then, we cleared out the floor of branches and dirt.

"Guess this is the best we can do given the circumstances."

"I'll go get some leaves for bedding, so it doesn't hurt as much," said Sangchul.

"I'm going with you."

"Just stay here. It's safer."

"But I can help you!"

"I'll be back."

"But-"

"Goddamnit Jiwon I don't want you to get hurt!" His voice shook the small cabin. I had never heard him yell so angrily, especially at me. I decided it was best if I backed off for now. He gave a large sigh and hurried out in the night; the door gave a soft thud as it closed behind him.

"That went great. Just great Jiwon!" I whispered to myself. I decided to refill the bullets in both of my guns, not that there were many left, and I made sure my knife was sharpened before I placed the cover back on. The night was getting chillier.

"I better check out the cabinets and then the trunk." I got up and made my way over to the small kitchen. Illuminated by my phone, I checked the inside of every door and even under the sink. To my ultimate surprise, I found a few unopened water bottles and some cans of tuna and sardines. Some cans of corn and green beans followed. If dad had meant for us to stumble upon this place, I thought to myself, maybe he placed these here himself. Maybe he knew this would happen.

*Creak~*

I turned around in the direction of the sound, gun in hand, only to find Sangchul had returned, carrying a very large pile of leaves.

"Jesus you scared me!" I whispered, lowering my gun.

"Sorry," he responded. After that, we didn't talk much at all, except for the occasional "excuse me" or "sorry" when we got in each other's way. We managed to make a decent bed under the table with the leaves Sangchul collected, and soon enough, we were eating a can of tuna with a few sips of water in between.

"Oh shoot! I forgot to check the chest in the other room," I said quietly.

"We should do it tomorrow, it's late after all." The bright stars shone through the small windows in the cabin, and you could see the moon peak through a few clouds. I thought about mom, and prayed both her and Minsuk were alright. I also wondered if my friends were okay.

"Any luck contacting Minsuk?" I asked. He shook his head.

"You?"

"No."

"Well, we'll start again first thing tomorrow. For now we should go to sleep." I nodded in agreement. I made my way over to the small space under the table. I noticed Sangchul hadn't moved.

"You coming?" I asked.

"It's alright. You should sleep while I lookout."

"Sangchul, we're both dirty and tired. As poorly shaped as this cabin is, I'm pretty sure nothing will attack us in our sleep as long as we make sure to close the door tight." I insisted. More than anything I wanted him close by me.

"It's fine, really. In a couple hours I'll wake you up and then it'll be my turn."

"You sure?" I asked, not wanting to push him any further. I didn't want to upset him again.

"Yeah." I was disappointed and weirded out by myself for having such corrupt thoughts, so I laid down on the soft leaves, and in a few minutes, I was knocked out.

(Sangchul POV)

I looked over to where Jiwon had laid down. The light bouncing off the moon was enough for me to see her delicate facial features. She had beautiful lips and a round little nose. If I was honest with myself, I did want to go lay down next to her and hold her close. But I knew I was just playing myself. A rich and upperclass girl like her with a poor and stupid bodyguard like me. What the hell was I even thinking. The best I could do for her was keep her safe from any harm. Especially now with those fucking zombies or whatever the hell they were. I still had trouble processing reality.

*Achoo!*

Jiwon had started sneezing and she seemed to be shivering. We had planned to build a fire for warmth but decided it was too dangerous inside of a cabin. I removed my black jacket and placed it over her. She immediately stopped shivering and a small smile spread on her face. She snuggled closer to the jacket. I stepped back and took another sip of water. Jiwon was the last precious thing I had on this planet, and I would lay my life down if it meant for her to be safe...