Farewell to thee! but not farewell
To all my fondest thoughts of thee:
Within my heart they still shall dwell;
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
- Anne Bronte
Chapter Two: Farewell to Thee
On Jo was dreaming. Not the normal dream, that featured friends and family and nonsensical adventures. It also wasn't a nightmare. There were no monsters, no tragedies, nothing like that. No. Everything was just black and empty. This was the unconsciousness that accompanied a deep and restful sleep.
And then, a lightning bolt of energy surged throughout her entire body. It tingled throughout her fingertips and ended in her toes. On Jo's back arched, and she gasped for her first breath of air in what felt like forever. All traces of peace instantly disappeared and suddenly, the World was clearer than ever.
"I think I died!" The words escaped her lips before she knew what she was saying.
Rolling on her back, On Jo lifted herself up to her hands and knees.
Cheong-san was kneeling next to her, and he immediately reached over to pull her into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you!"
On Jo fell into his embrace, clutching the back of his shirt in fear and disbelief. She laid her cheek against his shoulder and could hear the frantic beating of his heart below. It made the inside of her mouth salivate, and On Jo wondered why she was so hungry.
"I-Sak went to find an adult," Cheong-san explained. She could hear him sniffling into her shoulder, and feel his face buried into her neck. She could also feel the results of his tears soaking the back of her uniform. "You were gone for ten minutes!"
"I don't know what's happening to me," On Jo whispered. It felt as if every bone in her body were cracking and realigning itself together. She could feel her muscles tense and relax, and the blood in her veins seemed to cool slightly.
"You need to go to the hospital," Cheong-san said. He pulled back just enough to study her face. "I think you had a heart attack or something. How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine," On Jo replied. Now that she thought about it, she felt healthier than ever. She was confused and frightened, but physically she felt unusually strong.
She stayed seated on the ground, allowing Cheong-san to cling to her. It felt comforting to rest in his embrace, even as she watched the joints in her fingers pop in and out of place.
"I thought I lost you," Cheong-san repeated into her hair. "I was so scared."
"There's something wrong with me," On Jo replied. Only, that wasn't entirely the truth. Was it really concerning that she felt better than ever? Was she simply over-reacting after losing consciousness earlier? Did she really die? And why did she say that she did? How could she even have known that she was dead, without someone taking her pulse or reading her heartbeat?
Suddenly, a distant noise caught her attention. The sound grew louder and louder as each second ticked by, and anxiety began to overwhelm On Jo. Frantic, alarming screams filled the air. "Do you hear that?" On Jo asked, wondering why he seemed so unfazed.
"Hear what?"
On Jo surged to her feet, running to the window, and looking below.
Cheong-san followed, concerned for her health. He braced himself against her back and pulled her into his chest to ensure that she didn't collapse again. For a moment, there was nothing happening below, and then a student came sprinting out past their view. Several others followed, all seeming to be running from something.
Once On Jo's vision steadied, she noticed several students, unlike the rest. Blood covered their white school shirts; some students were chasing others. A visibly wounded boy tackled a girl in front, and savagely began to feast on her exposed neck.
The sight of gushing blood hungered On Jo, and she turned away from the scene to avoid the temptation.
"What are they doing?" Cheong-san whispered in horror. "Why are they doing that?"
On Jo walked to the door and peeked into the halls of the high school. Several classmates scrambled past the window, searching for safety.
Cheong-san pulled her back into the classroom and shut the door in front of them. He held her hand and they stepped back to examine the scene.
"We have to go home!" Cheong-san stated. "Somethings happening."
"How?" On Jo whispered. Hordes of students began to run back and forth in front of the classroom's window, but no one seemed to have any direction. It was absolute chaos, and On Jo feared leaving their little haven when they didn't even know where to find safety.
The sliding door of the English classroom abruptly opened and closed, and On Jo took a step back.
"Lock the doors! Lock the doors! Lock the doors!" A shrill girlish voice demanded. Instantly, On Jo recognized Na-Yeon, donned in her signature pink cardigan. Irritation pulsed through her body, and Nam On Jo instantly felt bad. While Na-Yeon might be the most unlikeable student in Class 2-5, this was not the time and place to think about that.
The doors slammed open and shut again, and Na Yeon screamed and ran to the back of the classroom. Hyo-ryung, Ji-min, and Min-ji nearly collapsed in front of the entrance, and Cheong-san pulled her behind him.
"What's going on out there?" Cheong-san demanded.
"We don't know," Ji-min panted. "Everyone just started attacking each other!"
"Hurry up and lock the doors before more people come in!" Na-Yeon screeched.
Before she could even finish the sentence, I-sak and Gyeong-su appeared. Slamming the door open before anyone could stop them.
"I-sak!" On Jo cried, running to her best friend. Pulling I-sak into a tight hug, On Jo was awash with relief. On Jo could hear I-sak's heart pounding through the layers of her school uniform, and On Jo wondered when I-sak started smelling so good. Simultaneously, On Jo noticed Cheong-san checking in on his own best friend.
Once again, the classroom doors opened and Woo-jin and Joon-yeong frantically entered the safety of their English classroom.
"Fucking shut the doors already!" Na-Yeon screamed at the top of her lungs.
Rather than argue, Woo-jin and Gyeong-su immediately went to block the door using their legs and arms to hold the entrance closed.
The screaming never seemed to end, and On Jo crouched down and covered her ears when the sound seemed unbearable.
"I'm sorry, On Jo," I-sak whispered, kneeling next to her. "I didn't get the chance to call the ambulance."
"It's okay," On Jo reassured her, shooting her an unconvincing smile. It wasn't just the piercing screams filling the air that crippled On-Jo. No, she could smell everything. The aroma of blood drifting into her nose, seeping from the hallways and even as far away as the sidewalk outside. Only, the smell of blood didn't seem to disgust her at all. It made her even hungrier. As if she was walking past a neighborhood BBQ after a long day of not eating.
"I don't know if I should be here," On Jo whimpered. She was filled with shame and embarrassment upon the realization that she craved blood. She didn't really know what she wanted to do with it, but On Jo knew that she wanted it.
Maybe when she lost consciousness, something went wrong inside of her brain. Maybe she was becoming a psychopath, like Ted Bundy or one of those other sick serial killers that she heard about in the media. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she did know that she didn't want to hurt her friends.
The classroom door pushed open halfway, and a debris-covered male attempted to squeeze himself through the entrance.
"Who the hell are you?" Woo-jin demanded, panic lacing his voice.
"Brother-in-law, it's me," the man responded. Immediately, Woo-jin and Gyeong-su released their grips on the door and it flew open.
"Oh, sorry, come in," Woo-jin said, pulling the man in shutting the door shut behind him.
The male wiped the white mask off his face, revealing himself to be Dae-su. "People are going crazy out there. Some idiot sprayed me with a fire extinguisher in the hallway."
"It's like The Train to Busan!" Gyeong-su said. "They're all zombies!"
"That's just a movie though," Dae-su scoffed. "There's no way zombies are real."
Gyeong-su led Dae-su to the classroom window to look at the chaos below. On Jo rose from her kneeled position on the floor and followed them to the scene outside. Not far behind, Cheong-san came to view the evidence before them.
There was no denying it. Now that she could think clearly, On Jo could see that the victims of those bloody students rise from their prone positions and begin attacking others. The extent of these attackers' wounds didn't seem to bother them one bit. On Jo saw students with limbs ripped off their bodies and intestines spilling out of their bellies chase after others.
A frantic knocking at the window disrupted Gyeong-su and Dae-su's view of the carnage, and Dae-su crept closer to investigate the sound.
"It's Bare-su!" Dae-su announced with both relief and fear. "Hurry up and help him in!" Gyeong-su and Dae-su lifted the windowsill to pull their handsome, tall classmate in through the window.
Immediately, Su-hyeok tuned back to the window to call outside. "Come up, hurry!" Seconds later, On Jo witnessed Su-hyeok pull Nam Ra through the opening.
For a second, jealously clouded On Jo's senses, as she saw Su-hyeok grasp Nam Ra's hand and give the class president a once over to ensure she was unharmed. Then, On Jo felt a flash of hatred directed towards Su-hyeok.
This was the man she fantasized over? She had dreamt up thousands of scenarios about what dating Su-hyeok would be like, but she never would have imagined his complete disregard for her.
Sure, On Jo knew that it was possible for Su-hyeok to reject her. She had prepared for it, even. But she would never forget when he left her writhing in pain and on the brink of unconsciousness to chase after a girl that never seemed to care about any one of them.
When Su-hyeok glanced in her direction, she met his stare unflinchingly.
"Ya! You were bit, weren't you?" Su-hyeok accused her, stepping forward threateningly. The classroom became deathly silent and On Jo could feel the tension in the air.
No one even seemed to notice when a single, high-pitched shriek seemed to draw all of the zombies away from the floor they were situated on, but On Jo could somehow sense their presence departing.
Immediately, On Jo felt someone grasp her hand and pull her back. She knew it was Cheong-san before he even stepped in front of her.
"Back up!" Cheong-san hissed, using his body to shield On Jo. "She wasn't bit by a zombie. She was bit by Hyeon-ju. You saw what happened!"
"That's probably where this all originated from!" Su-hyeok argued. "Hyeon-ju tried biting everyone that tried to help her and now everyone is eating each other!"
"Kick her out! Throw her out the window!" Na-Yeon screeched, attempting to hide behind one of the classroom's desks.
"We were here first," Cheong-san argued. "So, if anyone wants to leave, it shouldn't be us."
"She really was bit, wasn't she? And then after she came back to class, she just collapsed," Ji-min pointed out. Ji-min pointedly looked On Jo in the eye, "I think she should leave, too."
"Shut up!" I-sak snarled back. "On Jo was bit at least twenty minutes ago! And she obviously didn't turn into a zombie after she lost consciousness."
However, now that On Jo stopped to think about it, maybe she was turning into a zombie. Is this why she craved blood so much? Did she want to eat people, too?
"I'll go," On Jo whispered. Despite her anger at Su-hyeok and her jealousy towards Nam Ra, On Jo would never want to put her classmates in any danger. But when On Jo began to trudge to the classroom door, she felt Cheong-san's hand latch onto hers.
"If she goes, I go," Cheong-san declared. On Jo tried to shake his hand off her, but his grip held strong.
"Let me go, Cheong-san," On Jo hissed. She thought about harming Cheong-san and instantly felt sick. How could she live with herself if she were to hurt her childhood best friend? "I don't want to hurt you."
"Where you go, I go," Cheong-san insisted. Tears welled in On Jo's eyes, and anxiety pulled in her stomach. She couldn't leave the classroom knowing that Cheong-san would become zombie food, but she couldn't stay and risk turning into a zombie and attacking everyone.
"Don't make me do this," On Jo pleaded. "I don't want to be responsible for hurting anyone."
"I'm not letting you step out that door alone," Cheong-san promised, staring deeply into her eyes.
Gyeong-su suddenly stepped forward but didn't have the chance to say anything. As soon as Cheong-san's best friend released the door, a newcomer slid their way in.
"Ya! I told you to block the door, you idiot!" Na-Yeon screamed.
"I let it go for one second!"
"Coach Yoon!" The students recognized him as the P.E. teacher.
"Close the doors! And barricade the entrance!" The P.E. teacher commanded as soon as he stepped into the room. Already, he was piling desks and seats in front of the classroom entrance.
"Not until Nam On Jo leaves!" Na-Yeon demanded, stomping her foot.
But I-sak's eyes were focused on a different infected person. When Coach Yoon went to grab a table, the sleeve of his tracksuit shifted upwards, and the circular pattern of a bite mark appeared.
"Ya, Coach Yoon…" I-sak hesitated. "Were you bit?"
The teacher immediately pulled his sleeve down to cover the wound. "No! You nosy little brat, I wasn't bit."
"Then why did you cover it?" Ji-min accused. Her eyes were fixed on the teacher's arm, and she watched in horror as the P.E. teacher's nose began to bleed.
"I said I wasn't bit!" The P.E. teacher took a threatening step towards the female students and collapsed. The students watched in horror as the P.E. teacher twitched uncontrollably on the floor, and Na Yeon frantically threw away the barricade to escape the enclosed room.
"Help me! Help me!" Na-Yeon cried, snapping a couple of the students out of their shock.
Coach Yoon stopped twitching, and the students watched in horror as his body lifted itself from the ground to snap its teeth in their direction. Coach Yoon lunged towards Min-ji ferociously biting her on the lip.
Without a beat, Dae-su picked up the P.E. teacher and threw him into the classroom's shelves, momentarily stunning the zombie.
Min-ji touched the wound on her lips, and then glanced up at Dae-su. "What do I do? I don't want to die."
Dae-su stared at her in terror but didn't have an answer for her. Coach Yoon recovered from his disorientation and lunged at any nearby student, sending the classmates fleeing in all directions. Cheong-san picked up a classroom chair and used it to push the P.E. teacher into the wall, temporarily paralyzing the zombie.
Min-ji rose from her seated position to stumble over to her friends. "What do I do? I don't want to die."
"Get away from me!" Na-Yeon screamed, pushing Min-ji with all her force into the floor. As soon as Min-ji touched the ground, their former classmates back arched into an unnatural contortion. This time when she rose, she reached towards her friends with vicious intentions.
Dae-su lifted Min-ji up effortlessly, keeping his arms away from her mouth.
"Min-ji, stop! Please!" Bare-su pleaded. She thrashed furiously, and Na Yeon doubled her efforts to escape.
Su-hyeok assisted her, insisting towards his classmates that they had to leave now. One by one, everyone ran out of the former safety of their classroom.
Dae-su guiltily threw Min-ji into the tables, and Cheong-san and Gyeong-su forced Coach Yoon onto the ground to follow the group out and slam the doors behind them.
As soon as Na-Yeon was about to reach the staircase, a bloodied student appeared and Na-Yeon paused her step too fast, tripping. The crazed man paused to assess the prey before him before sprinting towards the group. Several others appeared behind the first zombie, all running towards the group in a frantic attempt to infect every one of them.
Gyeong-su pulled Na-Yeon up by the arm before their attackers could close in on them and the group retreated towards the opposite direction.
The boys, realizing that they were trapped, began to pull picture frames from the wall, using the makeshift shields to push the zombies back without getting close enough to touch them. After taking a second to gather themselves, the girls rushed forward to assist in this deadly game of tug-o-war.
"Ya, everyone! Get out of the way!" Dae-su's baritone voice shouted, and everyone looked behind to see him rushing forward with an entire door. The students heaved once powerfully and stepped back just in time for Dae-su to replace the front line. Once again, the students scrambled behind to push the zombies back, and once they reached the end of the floor, the students heaved once again to throw the zombies down the stairs and scrambled to the top.
"Get to the science lab!" Su-hyeok screamed from his position in the back.
The students sprinted up the two flights of stairs to the science classroom, several boys leading the way with their picture frame shields. From behind, Dae-su and a couple of female classmates covered the back.
When they reached the classroom door, On Jo was horrified to find a lock placed on the door.
"It's locked! What do we do?" I-sak yelled. She singlehandedly tried to pull the lock off the door using nothing but her hands.
On Jo glanced around for a solution and kneeled on the ground to look for something to break the lock.
"Dae-su, push!" On Jo commanded, helping push back the zombies just enough to grasp the emergency fire hose.
Quickly grasping the hose, On Jo used the metal spout to knock the lock off the door. "Get inside!" She slammed the door open, holding the door for the others to join them.
Dae-su waited until everyone else entered the room before attempting to push the zombies back further with the large, wooden door. Glass shattered as he accidentally missed his intended target, leaving a large enough gap for the zombies to reach through, but nobody seemed to notice.
Dae-su learned against the school walls as soon as he entered the science classroom. Almost immediately, he screamed in panic when one of the undead grasped his hair and pulled him up.
Joon-young grabbed a fire hydrant and used it to knock the zombie's grasp off his friend, accidentally breaking another window. The smartest male student in class froze in panic, stepping back to reassess the situation. He looked down at his hands, noticing them trembling in fear.
Ji-min pushed Joon-young assist to hit the zombies using anything she could grab. But her efforts were fruitless, and everyone knew it.
Cheong-san swept aside the science beakers and pushed forward a desk.
"Hurry! Barricade the windows!"
At once, Hyosang's surviving Juniors began to pile tables and chairs against the classroom wall. However, the zombie screeching remained animated, and the undead refused to give up their fight. They wouldn't be able to stay here forever.
"Where's Su-hyeok?" Nam-ra's voice rang out.
She stepped towards the glass windows to stare at the bloodied faces, hoping that she wouldn't recognize Su-hyeok staring back at her. When she couldn't find anything, she walked to the door as if to look for him but was immediately pulled back by her female classmates.
"I'm sure he's fine," Hyo-ryung soothed. "Su-hyeok is strong. He'll be able to take care of himself."
A booming voice caused the entire class to flinch, and the zombies fighting to get inside ran off to find the source of the sound.
"Hey everyone, you're all safe right? I don't know what's going on right now, but please find a safe place to run and hide." The voice trembled with emotion and the students could hear sniffling on the other end. "I'm sorry, I can't do anything. Stay alive, and let's meet again. Okay?"
On Jo watched the students huddle into smaller groups to cry in response to the message. Nam-Ra stood alone in the corner of the classroom, face unreadable. On Jo also noticed that most of her classmates continued to maintain a distance from her, gathered in the opposite corner from her. I-sak laid her head against On Jo's shoulder and Cheong-san laced his fingers through hers.
When On Jo scanned the room, she realized that Na-Yeon remained standing with arms crossed, glaring at her. On Jo met her gaze, knowing that it was only a matter of time before her fate was once again deliberated.
With her remaining hand, On Jo grasped I-sak's and leaned her head against her friends. Taking a deep breath, On Jo froze.
"I-sak…" On Jo hesitated, voice a whisper. "You don't smell right." Taking her best friend's hand and raising it to her cheek, On Jo trembled when she noted I-sak's skin was cool to the touch. "You're cold."
"What's wrong?" I-sak questioned, ripping her hand from On Jo's grasp.
On Jo's heart stopped when I-sak's nose began to ooze bright, red blood. But the smell no longer tempted her, the stench of sickness tainted the liquid.
I-sak rose her hand to her face and wiped away the offending liquid. "There's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine. I wasn't bit."
On Jo stayed quiet, every second that ticked by brought closer the stink of death.
"I said I'm fine. I really wasn't bit!" I-sak's voice raised when she noticed her classmates' suspicious stares.
"What's happening? Were you really bit?" Na-Yeon accused, immediately stepping back.
"No!" I-sak ran to a mirror to stare at her reflection.
"It's because you've been hanging out with that zombie, Nam On Jo! Did she bite you?" Na-Yeon spat, glaring at On Jo.
"Shut up, Na Yeon!" Gyeong-su spat. "You're okay, right, I-sak?"
But the seeping redness leaking into I-sak's eyes disproved his question, and I-sak glanced up to stare at her best friend.
"I-sak…" On Jo whispered, trying to reassure her best friend that everyone would be alright.
"It's not happening right? I'm not turning into a zombie?" I-sak asked her friend. "I
Nam On Jo shook her head in denial, pulling I-sak into a hug.
"I said that I wasn't bit," I-sak pleaded. On Jo nodded into I-sak's shoulder, pulling her body closer to hers.
"What are you guys doing! Get her out of here now! Both of them!" Na-Yeon screamed at the top of her voice. Drawn by the noise, the undead students once again began to pound on the classroom's barricade.
Dae-su swore, climbing onto a table to hold the fortification together. "It's going to fall!"
"I said I wasn't sick!" I-sak screamed back, but her classmates shrank back in fear and retreated from her.
On Jo remained by her friend's side, squeezing her hand supportively. But when Cheong-san yanked her away, On Jo stumbled back in surprise. Cheong-san stood in front of her, backing On Jo up with his body.
I-sak looked betrayed by Cheong-san. She thought that he was her friend, too.
"On Jo," I-sak called out for her only ally. She took a step forward, then faceplanted into the floor.
I-sak's spine snapped, and her body continued to crack and dissemble until she reanimated, facing away from them.
"Hurry, get her out!" Na-Yeon screamed, looking to the boys for assistance.
"No," On Jo whispered. "Not I-sak, please."
When I-sak turned menacingly to the sound, On Jo stepped towards her best friend. Cheong-san pulled her back, insisting on keeping her shielded behind him. I-sak's eyes scanned over the room of prey, completely skipping over On Jo.
Deciding that Cheong-san were the closest, I-sak ran forward with her arms outreached. Using a stool, Cheong-san pushed I-sak into the classroom wall, momentarily knocking her off her feet.
"Stop!" On Jo pleaded, watching in horror as her best friend's attempted to kill one another.
I-sak's eyes snapped in On Jo's direction at the sound, but it was almost as if On Jo were invisible to her.
Once again, I-sak sprinted towards Cheong-san, who rearmed himself with a different stool. On Jo lunged forward to stop the attack, unfazed at Cheong-san's attempt to push her back.
Clenching her hand around I-sak's upper arm, On Jo pulled I-sak back towards the classroom windows. "I-sak, please."
I-sak turned as if to bite her but couldn't seem to find human prey. On Jo's best friend struggled ferociously against her grip, snarling towards Cheong-san, but On Jo couldn't detect any force of resistance.
Cheong-san sprang forward, intending to detach On Jo's grip on I-sak again, but he froze in shock and confusion when he noticed that I-sak wasn't even attempting to harm On Jo. He glanced around the room in disbelief, searching for answers from his fellow classmates, but everyone else seemed to be in a similar state of confusion.
"Throw her out the window!" Na-Yeon pleaded, but On Jo ignored her. All her attention was focused on I-sak.
"I-sak, snap out of it," On Jo begged. She switched her grip to hold one of I-sak's clawing hands in both of hers, turning I-sak's view away from their classmates. "Please."
On Jo scanned I-sak's eyes, hoping for a glimmer of recognition, but she only saw emptiness. Memories of their life-long friendship flashed through On Jo's brain and tears blinded On Jo's vision. "Please…"
A warrior's cry startled On Jo out of her reverie, and she released her grip and took a step back in alarm, instinctively lifting her hands to shield her ears from the high-pitched shriek. On Jo watched Na-Yeon rush I-sak with a classroom chair, pushing her best friend out through the window. As if in slow motion, On Jo noticed every shard of glass shatter and I-sak's flailing arms and snarling face disappear out through the window.
Diving forward, On Jo reached for I-sak's hand. On Jo's fingers only barely managed to graze I-sak's for a split second before the feeling disappeared.
Watching in horror, On Jo leaned through the window just in time to watch her best friend's broken body splatter on the ground.
I'm back... I really didn't expect to update so fast, but I felt the overwhelming urge to write. There's also not nearly enough Cheong-san/ On Jo fanfiction in this World, and while I can't force others to write for me, I can contribute to this piteously small fandom.
This particular episode really resonated with me when I watched it. I feel that we rarely ever get to see the true extent of female friendships (especially in K-drama) and I really felt On Jo's misery and denial when watching her best friend turn. Taking the time to acknowledge the loss and pain for each fallen friend really differentiates AOUAD from other zombie flicks.
Also, my beta is Grammarly and I haven't written fanfiction in years, so don't expect perfection.