Seul-ki's breath caught so suddenly it looked like her body had forgotten how to move.
She stood frozen where she was, eyes locked forward, her entire posture tightening as if something inside her had snapped into place and refused to let go. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound followed, and for a moment she just stood there, staring like she was afraid the slightest movement would break whatever she was seeing.
Jin noticed the way her throat shifted, like she was forcing something down, something heavy and sharp that refused to settle. Her fingers twitched at her sides, curling slowly until her nails pressed into her palms.
Then she moved, taking one unsteady step forward.
Her knee almost gave out beneath her, forcing her to catch herself before she could fall forward.
"…Chul?"
Her voice barely carried.
There was no certainty in it. No relief. Just disbelief, fragile and uncertain, like she didn't trust her own eyes.
The figure against the far wall didn't react.
Didn't move.
Didn't even flinch.
Seul-ki took another step, slower this time, careful, as if the ground beneath her might collapse if she rushed it. The distance between them wasn't far, but it felt stretched, drawn out by hesitation and fear.
Echo shifted quietly beside Jin, rubbing the back of his neck without saying anything. Joon-seok let out a slow breath, controlled but tense, his arms folding loosely as he watched.
Neither of them spoke.
There was nothing they could say in the moment.
Jin didn't move either. His attention stayed fixed on the boy, and the longer he looked, the more something in his chest settled into something uneasy.
The boy's posture wasn't right.
He was folded in on himself, arms wrapped tightly around his legs, head lowered just enough to hide his face beneath the shadow of his hood. His clothes were worn, edges frayed, and darkened with grime and dried blood.
Jin's gaze dropped slightly.
The boy's hands were clenched around his sleeves, fingers digging in so hard they trembled.
His breathing was shallow.
Like someone who had been running for too long and had forgotten how to stop.
Jin felt something sink in.
They had seen death. They had fought through it, endured it, pushed forward through exhaustion and fear because they had no other choice.
But not everyone made it through like that.
Some people didn't break physically; they broke inside.
Seul-ki lowered herself slowly, her movements unsteady as she knelt in front of him. Her hand hovered in the air for a moment, hesitating, before finally reaching out.
"Chul…"
The moment her fingers brushed his sleeve, everything changed.
He flinched violently.
His breath snapped sharp, his entire body jerking forward as if he had been dragged out of something deep and suffocating. Before anyone could react, his hands shot up and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her toward him with sudden force.
Jin's body tensed immediately, instinct kicking in before thought, but he stopped himself just as quickly.
This wasn't an attack.
The boy was shaking.
His grip tightened around her like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go, his breathing breaking apart into uneven, ragged gasps.
"Seul- Seul-ki-"
His voice cracked on her name.
"…You're alive."
It wasn't relief, though; it was something deeper.
Something raw and fractured.
Seul-ki stiffened at first, caught off guard by the sudden contact, but only for a second. Then her hands rose, gripping his sleeves just as tightly, her fingers curling into the fabric like she needed to anchor herself there.
"I'm here," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm here."
The boy let out a sound that didn't quite belong to laughter or crying. It broke somewhere in between, shaking loose from his chest like something that had been trapped there for too long.
"I thought you were dead."
His words came out uneven, rushed, like he had to say them before they disappeared.
"I was going to come looking for you, but then everything started to fall apart..."
His voice gave out, and he buried his face against her shoulder, his body shaking as everything he had been holding back finally caught up to him.
Seul-ki's breath hitched.
Her hand moved carefully, fingers threading through his hair, slow and steady, like she was trying to ground him.
"I'm here," she repeated softly. "I'm okay."
No one interrupted.
Jin stood where he was, watching in silence. Echo shifted his weight slightly, looking away for a moment before exhaling under his breath. Joon remained still, his expression unreadable, but his posture had eased just enough to show he wasn't expecting a threat anymore.
This wasn't something they were part of.
But it wasn't something they could ignore either.
After a moment, Seul-ki pulled back just enough to look at him properly.
Her eyes were glassy now, her breathing uneven.
"Chul… what happened?"
The boy didn't let go of her sleeves.
His eyes flickered, unfocused for a second, like his mind was dragging itself through memories it didn't want to revisit.
"I was on my way to your office," he said quietly. "When everything started."
His voice was steadier now, but only barely.
"Then it all went wrong."
Seul-ki's grip tightened.
"The monsters?"
Chul shook his head slowly.
"No."
A pause.
"The people."
Jin felt something tighten in his chest.
Chul swallowed, his gaze dropping slightly.
"I found a group," he continued. "At first, they were just like me. Trying to survive. Staying together."
His fingers twitched against the fabric of Seul-ki's sleeve.
"But then the system… that message…"
He trailed off, his jaw tightening.
"They started changing. The way they looked at each other. The way they talked."
Seul-ki shook her head slightly.
"No…"
"One of them got hurt," Chul said, his voice lowering. "An older guy who was slower than the rest and they..."
He didn't finish the sentence; he didn't need to.
The silence said enough.
Jin already knew how it ended.
Seul-ki's grip tightened.
"…What did you do?"
"I ran."
The answer came immediately.
"And I didn't stop."
His breathing picked up again, uneven.
"I didn't know where I was going. I just needed to get away."
His hands trembled slightly.
"I thought maybe… if I made it home…"
His voice faltered.
"…Then I saw the station," he continued quietly. "There was finally a place that didn't look too damaged…"
He cut himself off, shaking his head.
"I thought you were already gone, so I decided to stay here..."
Seul-ki swallowed hard.
"I'm glad you did."
Chul nodded.
"I didn't have anywhere else to go."
Jin exhaled slowly.
It made sense.
Everything about it made sense.
And yet something didn't sit right.
Chul had stopped shaking.
But he wasn't calm.
His shoulders were still tense. His breathing was still uneven. His fingers still gripping too tightly.
And his eyes, they kept moving.
From the doors.
To the barricades.
To every corner of the room.
Like he was waiting for everything to fall apart.
Joon finally spoke, his voice low.
"Why do you keep looking over there?"
Chul froze for a second, then swallowed.
"I keep thinking those guys will find this place..."
Seul-ki frowned.
"They're not here."
Chul didn't answer.
But the doubt in his eyes didn't fade.
Jin leaned back slightly, exhaling slowly.
It was a normal reaction.
Anyone who went through something like that would be on edge.
Anyone would expect it to happen again.
And yet, his instincts refused to settle.
Echo shifted beside him.
"You think we're actually safe here?"
Joon shrugged slightly.
"Safer than outside."
Jin didn't respond.
His gaze drifted back toward Chul.
Even now, with Seul-ki right beside him, he still wasn't relaxed.
He was still watching and waiting.
Jin felt it settle deeper in his chest.
It wasn't fear or anything; it was just something that refused to leave.
He leaned his head back against the desk behind him, his body finally giving in to the exhaustion he had been holding off for too long. The ache in his ribs pulsed steadily, his arms felt heavy, and his eyes burned from everything they had been through.
For the first time since it all started, he let himself stop.
Echo stretched slightly beside him, rolling his shoulders.
"So… are we sleeping, or taking turns pretending we're not about to get stabbed?"
Joon let out a quiet breath.
"No one's pulling that here, remember the rules."
"Yeah," Echo muttered. "That's what everyone says."
Jin closed his eyes; he didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
The last thing he saw before the weight of exhaustion pulled him under-
Was Chul.
Still watching the doors.
Still not at ease.
And that feeling that something was going to happen stayed with him even as everything went dark.