╸𝔄𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 ╸

╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸

𝔇𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔥𝔶𝔲𝔠𝔨'𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔳

╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸

It's been a week since the incident happened in town, and Renjun still hasn't woken up.

We're all worried about him of course, but Jeno, Jaemin, Mark, and I are the most worried about him. We've been taking care of him all this time with everyone's help, but we all miss hearing his voice and seeing him smile.

During this past week, Taeyong healed Mark no problem, and he's been able to teleport himself, Mark, and Johnny back to town during the day to make it to work. And after they finish their shifts, Taeyong finds a safe spot in town and teleports them back here. That was their routine for a few days, at least before both shops shut down until further notice.

Additionally, Yukhei leaves out at the dead of night. I caught him once, and he explained to me that he goes out to memorize the patterns of the zompires. He made me promise not to say anything, but I know he has something big planned.

And as for Chenle, Jisung, Jeno, Jaemin, and myself, we're the main ones taking care of Renjun until he wakes up.

-

Taeyong and I are in the kitchen preparing something for everyone to eat.

Well, Taeyong is. I'm just watching him and helping if he needs assistance.

"Hey Hyuck, could you take two of these bowls to Jeno and Jaemin? They haven't been out of that room all day, and I'm certain they haven't eaten anything.."

Taeyong asked, holding out a tray with two bowls of ramen.

"I will~. But can I take my bowl too? I wanna eat with them to try and cheer them up"

"You're so kind Hyuck. Of course you can take yours too~"

Taeyong grabbed another bowl, and filled it up with the same contents as the other two before placing it on the tray as well.

"Thank you hyung~"

I carefully carried the tray to the room that Renjun was resting in, and immediately found Jeno and Jaemin with him.

They were both quietly seated on either side of the bed, desperately waiting for Renjun to wake up.

"Hi guys. Taeyong-hyung made ramen for everyone. So I brought yours with mine so we could eat together"

I walked into the room and placed the tray at the foot of the bed.

They acknowledged the information I gave them, but after I pulled up a chair to eat with them, they still didn't moved an inch.

"Are you guys not hungry, or...?"

I asked, but their answers had nothing to do with my question.

"This is just like when he ran away from home..."

"Except he's right here in front of us, and we can't do anything to help him..."

"Oh..."

At this point, I don't really know what to say...

Their hurt is on a completely different level than most of us. They've known Renjun for much longer, so this has got to be torture for them...

"Knock knock. Can I come in?"

Yukhei suddenly knocked on our door, even though it was already open.

"Sure. What's going on hyung?"

"I have a plan. Everyone is going to meet up in the lounge area, so you guys can find us there after you eat. Oh, and bring Renjun with you when you're coming"

"Huh?? But why??"

"Even though he still can't respond to anyone at the moment, he can still hear us completely fine. I'll see you guys soon"

Yukhei left the room, but what he said seemed to leave an impact on Jeno and Jaemin.

We all looked at Renjun, realizing that he had tears streaming down his face.

"...He heard what you two said about when he ran away, and you not being able to help him"

Neither of them said anything, but they finally picked up their bowls and silently started eating.

I picked up my bowl too, but while we were eating together, both of them suddenly started crying.

"Are you guys alright??? I'll get some tissues-"

"Don't Hyuck...

"We're fine, don't worry.."

They both insisted.

Immediately after, they proceeded to eat faster like it was a race. It made me happy seeing that they were at least trying to be their cheerful and competitive selves.

To try and make them feel better, I started eating faster too to join their race.

-

15 Minutes Later

-

After we ate, we met up with everyone in the lounge area, and we gently rested Renjun on the couch in between us and Mark.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll get straight to the point. For the past week, I've been leaving to go back to town at night. I've been keeping my eyes on the zompires and learning their patterns, and now I've come up with a plan. I want each of us to spilt up into groups and take out as many zompires as possible. I found the leader of the zompires a couple nights ago and learned his patterns as well. I'll be the one to take it on, because if that zompire goes down then all the others will as well"

After Yukhei explained his plan, everyone in the room looked at me.

"So...once the leader is gone, all of the others will disappear, including me..? I'll disappear along with all the rest, right...?"

"That's right Donghyuck. I'm sorry, but it's the only way to bring peace"

"If that's the case, then you can count me out hyung. I refuse to go through with this"

Chenle was the first one to say that he refused, then the rest of the monsters in the room followed suit.

"You'll have to count me out as well. Donghyuck is innocent. Why should he have to fall like the rest of them?"

Mark tried reasoning with Yukhei, refusing as well.

"...Guys please. Don't make this harder than it already is. You'd all be better off without me anyway.."

I tried to persuade everyone to go through with the plan, but then Jeno suddenly slapped me, so hard that he knocked me to the floor.

He quickly got on his knees and roughly pulled me up by the collar of my shirt. He looked very furious too.

"Don't you ever say that again!! You deserve to live just as much as the rest of us damn it!!"

"You're wrong hyung! I lost the right to live when I died and became your worst enemy! If Renjun hadn't taken me in and just listened to you and Jaemin, then none of this would be happening now!!"

Jaemin was the next to slap me after I said that.

"We don't care what you are!! You've still become our friend Donghyuck!! The five of us made a promise to protect each other!! Don't try to go back on that promise now!!"

"Jaemin-hyung is right. What would we look like if we broke that promise, and ruined our bonds just to end one measly threat"

Chenle frowned.

"There has to be a way to keep hyung safe while still putting an end to the zompires. Right...?"

Jisung asked, but no one answered.

"...Wait. There is a spell that demons can cast that could do just that, but it's very risky and I'd only get one shot at it. If it goes well, then all of the zompires will be destroyed except for Hyuck, no problem. But if it goes wrong, one of three things could happen. First, he could turn back into a human, but since he's already dead, he'd just end up dying for good. Secondly, he could just end up disappearing just like the rest no questions asked. And finally, he could end up turning against us, forcing us to kill him ourselves"

Everyone fell silent, contemplating the different results that could take place.

If we go through with this, there's only an eighty percent chance that I'll survive.

"Well... It's still worth a shot, even if it is risky. His chances might be slim, but I still want him to have a chance"

Johnny insisted, and everyone agreed to that.

"I won't argue anymore, but either way, I've still come to terms with my death. I'm happy that I got a second chance at life, but if I end up dying a second time, then that's ok. I'm thankful to all of you for making my second chance an amazing one"

Everyone seemed sad with my final statement, and Jeno even looked like he wanted to cry.

He just looks even more defeated and helpless, and I know Jaemin isn't feeling any better. First Renjun went into his catatonic state and they couldn't do anything about it, and now we hear this and they can't do anything to help me either.

I know it sucks, but some things are just out of our control.

"Hey... Guys! Renjun is awake again~!"

Mark suddenly exclaimed.

Renjun really was awake now~. He rubbed his eyes and stretched a bit while Yukhei rushed to the kitchen get him some water.

Once he brought it, he gave it to Mark and he helped drink it slowly.

"Listen Hyuck..., we're sorry for slapping you"

"Just...try to have a bit of faith in us alright?"

Jeno and Jaemin apologized and fixed my clothes after sitting me back onto the couch.

"...Right. I will"

After Renjun drank some of his water, he cleared his throat and spoke for the first time in ages.

"I'm really sorry for worrying all of you... But thank you for taking care of me. I really appreciate it. But despite the risks, we should go through with Yukhei-hyung's plan, as well as Taeyong-hyung's. As for the leader of the zompires, I'll join hyung to end the zompires, seeing as we're both clairvoyants and all"

"I wouldn't have it any other way Renjun"

Yukhei smiled, pleased from his decision.

"As for what day we put this plan into action, what did you have in mind?"

"The best day to do this of course. Midnight of October 31st"

Yukhei's answer was enough to make Renjun smile immediately.

The fact that he chose Halloween to do this was clever in itself. It just seems suitable for us to take down a monstrous threat on Halloween.

"Great. That's more than enough time for us to hone our abilities. We're all going to work hard to end the zompires and clear our names in style~"