|Jungkook|

  Jungkook allowed his hand to glide over the soft muzzle of the horse before him. The black horse let out a small neigh, leaning his head further into Jungkook's palm. Jungkook's eyes shone with amazement and his lips tilted up into a small bunny smile.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." Maggie snorted as she filled the hay feeder with hay.

The boy didn't look away from the horse or stop gliding his hand over its neck while responding,"It's been a long time since I've seen a horse." Jungkook breathed out in wonder, his eyes glowing with excitement.

Maggie hummed and turned around to glance at the younger one. A small smile tugged on her lips at the sight before her. Jungkook looked calm and content as he stared at the horse with wide eyes. His lips were pulled back into a small smile, revealing his two front bunny teeth, causing Maggie to bite her lip to stop herself from commenting on it.

"So did you ask me to come here to make Glenn jealous?" Jungkook finally stepped away from the horse and turned to look at Maggie.

The said girl raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the stable,"Why would you think that?"

"I may be a bit slow but I didn't miss the looks you two exchanged." Jungkook smirked slightly, watching as the horse walked over to the hay and began to munch on it.

Maggie rolled her eyes playfully and straightened out,"He's been distant ever since he came back from the town. Maybe you know why."

Jungkook frowned in thought before shaking his head,"I don't know, but I think talking to him would be better than making him jealous." Gguk sent her a timid smile, feeling a lot more comfortable with her after spending a few hours together looking after the horses.

"I Didn't know a fetus like you would know much about relationships." Maggie teased, a playful grin adoring her face.

A small blush coated Jungkook's pale cheek before he squinted his eyes and sent her a glare,"Shut up," The boy muttered, causing Maggie to release a small laugh.

Jungkook rolled his eyes with a small smile, feeling his stomach tingle in happiness. The loneliness he used to feel every night was nowhere to be found. Gguk smiled at the thought before speaking,"Age has nothing to do with it. I'm smart."

Maggie stopped laughing and looked up at him, her face a bit more serious than before,"You wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Jungkook bit his lip and looked away, falling deeper into his thoughts. The sound of the stable door opening caused Gguk to look up and turn towards the entrance.

Dale walked inside, his eyes jumping all over the place before settling in Jungkook. He approached the pair with determination, causing Jungkook to frown in confusion.

"Maggie, can you please leave us alone for a second?" Dale turned towards Maggie, his eyes silently pleading her.

The said girl glanced between them before exhaling and nodding slightly. She turned towards Jungkook and nodded towards the tub of water for the horse to drink,"Can you refill that?"

"Yeah." Jungkook mumbled, receiving a small smile from Maggie.

Gguk's eyes flickered over to Dale as Maggie left the stable and the two alone. The boy waited patiently as Dale sighed and took a few steps forward,"I know you're a good kid, you're no murderer, I can see it in your eyes."

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and crossed his arms over his chest,"What are you talking about?"

"Randall. We're going to vote at down wether to kill him or not." Dale informed Jungkook, receiving a raised eyebrow in return.

Dale licked his lips, his kind yet determination filled eyes pinning him down."We're not the ones who decide who gets to live and who dies. This world has enough dead in it, the living have to stick together."

Jungkook was still confused about why Dale decided to approach him on the matter,"Why are you telling me this?"

"You're a part of this group, you're going to have to vote too,"Jungkook's eyebrows shot up at the news before Dale continued speaking,"I know what your vote is going to be, and I want to change it."

Jungkook stared at Dale in disbelief before a small scoff slipped past his lips. Gguk clenched his jaw and turned around, grabbing the water hose and aiming it at the empty tub.

"The guy was shooting at us, he was trying to kill us." Jungkook spoke tensely, trying not to loose his temper as he turned on the water hose and began to fill the tub with water.

Dale frowned and shook his head in denial,"He's just a kid, just like you."

"Do not compare me to him!" Jungkook snapped his head towards Dale and sent him a small glare. The boy sighed and rubbed his sweaty forehead,"I don't kill innocent people, Dale, that's saying a lot about my decision."

"You're no murderer, Jungkook, you don't want his life to fall on your conscience." Dale spoke softer and calmer than before, looking at the boy with pleading eyes.

Jungkook shook his head and looked up at him with a frown,"No, but I would much rather have one life on my conscience than this whole group's."

"Why add a life at all?" Dale wondered, stepping closer to Jungkook until he was standing next to him.

"You're a good man, Dale, but you've gotta understand that not everyone in this world is like you. The world changed but people never did. The difference between now and then is that they're not afraid to show who they really are,"Jungkook spoke quietly, his eyes watching the water as it poured into the tub. The boy turned off the hose and looked up into Dale's sad eyes,"What I'm trying to say is, you can be kind but don't be stupid. People aren't faking their humanity anymore. Randall's first instinct was to kill us, that's who he is. And that's who you want to invite into your group."

Jungkook leaned against the doorframe to the living room in Hershel's house. The whole group were sitting or standing around, patiently waiting for Rick and Lori to come inside.

The door opened with a loud creak, causing Gguk to stop chewing on his bottom lip and look up.

Rick and Lori walked inside, the latter stopped at in the doorway while Rick stepped closer to the middle of the room. Carl came out from behind a wall, catching everyone's attention. Rick gave Him a pointed stare, causing the boy to scowl angrily and stomp away. Everyone in the room turned away and looked at each other.

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn broke the silence from where he was sitting- at the piano on Jungkook's left.

"Does it have to be anonymous?" Andrea asked, glancing around the room. She was leaning against the fireplace, that was on the opposite side of Jungkook, and was next to Shane.

Jungkook crosses his arms over his chest and kept quiet, watching the scene unfold. The boy knew what his vote is going to be and he didn't care what the others think about it. He knew what's the safe thing to do.

"Lets just see where everybody stands and then we can talk through the options." Rick spoke up, rubbing his forehead due to stress, before placing his hands on his hips.

Jungkook's eyes flickered over to Shane and a small scowl settled on his lips when he heard him speak for the first time,"The way I see it, there's only one way to move forward."

"Killing him? Right?" Jungkook ran his tongue over his lower lip and turned his attention towards Dale,"Why even bother to take a vote, it's clear which way the winds blow." The older man stepped away from his place in a different doorway, the one on Glenn's left.

Rick shook his head and spoke up as he leaned against one of the couches,"If people believe we should spare him, I wanna know."

"Well I can tell you, it's a small group. Maybe just....me and Glenn." Dale mumbled in defeat.

Jungkook looked at Glenn, his brow raising at the news. The boy pursued his lips when he noticed Glenn gulp and look up at Dale, his face apologetic. Dale saw the look and his face fell as Glenn began to speak,

"Look I...I think you're pretty much right about everything. All the time. But this-"

"They got you scared!" Dale exclaimed, gesturing towards the other group members.

"He's not one of us...and we've lost too many people already."Glenn stated a bit calmer than before, not looking away from Dale.

Dale frowned and gestures towards Jungkook, catching the boy off guard,"He's not one of us either."

Everyone in the room glanced at Gguk, who looked back at them with a blank face. Inside he was feeling nervous and a bit betrayed by what Dale just said, but he didn't want the others to see how anxious he was with all the attention on him. Gguk swallowed, ignoring his sweaty palms and fast beating heart.

"He didn't try to kill us!" Glenn quickly added, making Jungkook's shoulders relax, he was grateful for Glenn defending him and making the group look away.

Dale released a deep sigh through his nose and turned his attention on Maggie,"How about you? Do you agree with this?"

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie looked at Rick, raising a single brow.

Daryl, who was leaning on the other side of the doorway that Gguk was leaning on, shifted and muttered in a gruff voice,"Thats another mouth to feed."

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel added from his seat on the couch. Jungkook shook his head at the group and pushed his hair out of his forehead. The boy couldn't believe that they were actually considering letting Randall stay.

Lori spoke up, gazing at everyone,"We could ration better."

"He could be an asset,"Dale continued, his voice dripping with determination and confidence,"Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Put him to work?" Glenn wondered with furrowed eyebrows.

Jungkook understood that Randall wasn't the only stranger in the group. But the difference between the two was that Jungkook wasn't trying to kill them, while Randall clearly was. So he couldn't understand why they were debating this- the guy tried to kill them, end of the story!

Rick shook his head and interrupted them,"We're not letting him walk around here." His voice was strict as it shot down Dale's argument.

Jungkook sighed, frustrated by what was happening before him. He shut his eyes and leaned his head against the doorframe. If they weren't letting him go, they can't keep him as a pet forever.

"Put an escort on him." Maggie suggested, trying to stay hopeful.

Shane scoffed, catching everyone's attention,"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?"

"I will." Dale jumped at the opportunity, hoping that this would be enough to convince everyone.

Rick sighed and held up a hand,"I don't think any of us should be walking around this guy."

"He's right,"Lori muttered, gaining everyone's attention and causing Jungkook's eyes to flutter open to look at her,"I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up."

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labour." Andrea scoffed at the group, expressing her opinion.

"Look,"Shane spoke up, straightening out as everyone's eyes fell on him. Jungkook raised his head and stared at Shane in curiosity, wanting to hear what he's gonna say,"let's say we let him join us. Right? Maybe...maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice," shane hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and continued his speech,"We let our guard down, maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

Shane had a great point and Jungkook had to agree with him. They couldn't risk their lives just to give a guy, who already tried to kill them, a chance.

"So the answer is to kill him, to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale asked in disbelief, raising his voice slightly,"If we do this, we're saying there's no hope, the rule of law is dead, there is no civilisation." Jungkook released an unnecessary sight through his nose and turned away.

"Oh my god." Shane muttered, turning around so his back was to Dale.

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel spoke up, looking up at Rick for an answer.

Lori immediately piped in, rubbing her chest worriedly,"You barely made it back this time. You..you...you could get lost-"

"You could get ambushed." Daryl interrupted her dumb excuse with his more realistic one.

Honestly, Jungkook didn't understand why they were even voting, he knew what everyone's votes would be. These people wouldn't want to live next to someone who can kill them in their sleep. They didn't have to kill Randall themselves, Jungkook can bet, they wouldn't even be there to witness his death. The only person who would feel guilty is the one to pull the trigger. And the people who voted for Randall's death would sweep him out of their minds like a speck of dust.

"We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand through his hair.

A blonde woman, Patricia, spoke up from her position by one of the windows,"If we would go through with it, how would you do it? Would he....suffer?"

Jungkook looked up from the ground, curious about this too. Judging by Rick's character, with a gun, the quickest and most humane way.

Rick and Shane turned to look at each other before the latter spoke up,"We could hang him, right? Snap his neck?" Shane said it so easily as if he was laying in a beach, sunbathing.

Jungkook's eyebrows raised and his lips parted in mild surprise, he sure as hell wasn't expecting something this barbaric. Gguk agreed with Shane on not letting Randall live, but hanging him was killing him slowly and painfully was too much.

Even Shane's careless tone and the lack of empathy in his eyes, caused Jungkook to shift on his feet and advert his eyes.

"I thought about that," Rick nodded and glanced at Patricia before looking back at his best friend,"Shooting might be more humane."

Judging by the silence in the room, everyone agreed on Rick's way. Jungkook allowed himself to nod at His words as he relaxed his shoulders and pushed off of the doorframe. His muscles were becoming stiff from being in the position for too long.

"So...,"Jungkook glanced at a dark skinned man that Maggie said was T-Dog,"What about the body? Do w-"

"Ho...Ho...Hold on! Hold on!" Dale was quick to cut him off, staring at him with a mortified face and disbelief filled eyes,"You're talking about this as if it's already decided!"

Jungkook sighed yet again and pinched the bridge of his nose. Truth be told, this process of 'voting' made him want to grab his gun and shoot Randall himself. But Gguk knew he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Tony was the first human he's killed, and that was because he tried to kill Gguk. Randall was shooting at him, yes, but right now he was defenceless and Jungkook can't kill someone defenceless.

The more he thought about it, the more he realised how hypocritical he's being. Jungkook was voting for someone to kill Randall while he, himself, wouldn't be able to kill him. Just like these people he would move on from Randall's death and forget about it just because he wasn't the man behind the trigger.

"This is a young man's life!" Jungkook jumped slightly, being ripped out of his thoughts by the scruff of his neck. His dark eyes shot up towards Dale as the man began his speech,"And it is worth more than a five minute conversation!" Dale raised his voice, his words filled with anger and frustration,"Is this what it comes to?! We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him?!" The older man exclaims, his eyes shooting from a person to a person.

Jungkook shifted on his feet, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes flickered towards Daryl, who was standing next to him, Gguk looked at his expression, trying to see what he was thinking. Yet Daryl's expression was closed off and his eyes were squinted and focused on Dale as he spoke.

Jungkook looked away and turned back to Dale, listening to his every word. The old man turned towards Rick,"And you saved him! And now look at us....he's been tortured, he's gonna be executed! How are we any better than those people we're so afraid of?" Dale trailed off, softer and quieter than before. He turned to look at everyone in the room, but they looked away and avoided his gaze, including Rick, who clenched his jaw.

"We all know what needs to be done."

Gguk looked at Shane, his face was stoic and his eyes lacking any remorse. A small shiver ran up Jungkook's spine, causing him to bite his lip to stop himself from shivering in discomfort.

"No, Dale is right." The bunny looking boy snapped his head towards Rick and he was yet again pleasantly surprised by the leader,"We can't leave any stone unturned, we have responsibilit-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea cut him off before she was cut off by Lori and her glare,

"Let Rick finish."

Andrea ignored her and continued talking as if Lori's words were an annoying fly, being swatted away from her ear,"We haven't come up with a single liable option yet. I wish we could but-"

"So lets work on it!" Dale cut her off. His voice was loud and filled with frustration, and his words flailed along with his words.

Jungkook's head was starting to hurt from all the shouting and voice raising. It was no secret that he was sensitive to loud noises, especially shouting. Gguk absolutely hated when people yelled, it always caused him to flinch and wince. His parents tried not to raise their voices, but they too sometimes allowed their emotions to slip.

"Stop it,"

Jungkook stopped rubbing his aching temple and looked towards the soft voice echoing throughout the room.

Carol, who was leaning against the wooden door of the front house, looked at Dale before letting her gaze shift to all of them,"Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this." Carol said softly, looking into Dale's eyes.

"Please decide, either of you, both of you,"She looked in between Shane and Rick before continuing,"but leave me out." Carol shrugged and continued to lean against the door.

Jungkook inhaled deeply, placing his hands on his small waist before looking at Dale, he knew the man would surely say something. And he was right,

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself- there's no difference." Dale responded, his breath shaky due to all the built up emotions.

For Jungkook, he felt like he was back in school, listening to a lecture on bullying. He shifted on his feet, biting his lip to stop a small smile from appearing on his face.

"Alright that's enough." Rick raised his hand, stopping Dale from saying anything else.

Jungkook was glad that Rick didn't raise his voice but rather the tone of it- stricter and firmer. A small headache was already present, it felt like an annoying brat was poking his skull with a stick, making him feel slight pain and irritation. Jungkook wanted this debate to be over because he knew there was no point to have it, these people have long decided.

"Anybody want the floor before we make the final decision, has the chance." Rick finished by stepping back and allowing someone else to step forward.

A tense silence covered the room like a blanket of snow. Hershel looked down at the floor, his face covered in guilt. Maggie and Patricia sat down on the couches, not a word leaving their lips. T- dog, Andrea and Shane didn't say anything as they stared down at the floor or looked up at everyone in the room. Rick looked towards Lori, getting a shake of head in return. He looked towards Daryl but the man didn't say anything, giving him the answer he needed.

Lastly, Rick's eyes fell on Jungkook, who was chewing on his lip and looking down at the floor. The boy felt Rick's eyes on him, making him look up and give him a barely noticeable head shake.

Dale fondled his hat anxiously, his face falling after seeing the replies from his people. He sucked in a deep breath before looking at Rick,"You..you once said we don't kill the living!"

"Yeah, that was before the living tried to kill us." Rick calmly responded, not fazed by Dale's words.

"But don't you see that if we do this, the people that we were, the...the world that we knew is dead!" Dale exclaimed, his voice trembling with hurt and his eyes burning with unshed tears,"And this new world is ugly, it's.............harsh. It's...its...it's the survival of the fittest!" Dale ran a hand across his face before shifting around and looking at everyone,"And that's not a world I want to live in. And I don't...I don't believe that any of you do! I can't." Tears burned Dale's eyes and his voice trembled,"Please, lets just do what's right."

Jungkook's eyes were glued to the ground. Guilt and remorse traveled up his spine and wrapped around his throat, squeezing tightly. For a second, Gguk wanted to go back on his words and vote for Randall to live. Decisions like this made Jungkook realise how much he's truly changed. The old him would never vote for Randall to die, but this Jungkook was thinking about survival, no matter the cost.

The tension and silence in the room increased when no one said anything. Everyone avoided looking at Dale and his piercing gaze, instead, they looked down at the ground.

Dale's face fell even more, if it's possible, and he allowed his shoulders to slouch in defeat,"Ain't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?"

Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before opening them and looking up at Dale. If he was going to vote for Randall to die, he had to be sure about his decision and he had to stand by it. He couldn't look down at the floor in shame, he had to stand tall.

The silence in the room went disturbed and Jungkook was sure it would stay that way. Until Andrea spoke up while looking at Dale,"he's right."

Dale's eyes snapped towards her and his whole face lit up with relief, they stared at each other with soft eyes before Andrea looked away and addressed the group,"We should find another way."

Jungkook didn't agree with their votes but he respected their opinions on the topic. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked around the room, waiting for someone else to be moved by Dale's passionate speech about humanity.

"Anybody else?" Rick asked, looking around the room, only to receive silence in return.

Rick nodded before turning to face Dale. The latter's eyes gathered up even more tears and a bitter smile appeared on his face. Dale scoffed before looking up at the group, his eyes burning with untamed fire,"Are y'all gonna watch too?" Dale mocked before scoffing yet again,"Nah, you're gonna go hide your heads in your tents and forget that we're slaughtering a human being."

Dale inhaled sharply and let out a loud huff as he frantically shook his head,"I won't be a part of this."

Dale turned around and began to leave the room. Jungkook saw him coming in his and Daryl's direction, making him step aside so that he could leave. As Dale walked past Daryl, he stopped and placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder,

"This group is broken."