|Jungkook|

   A small family of walkers mindlessly shuffled around an abandoned mansion. Their worn out shoes scraped against the grime covered floor while their yellow eyes remained unfocused and hazy.

What used to be a beautiful mansion with a wide staircase leading to a second floor, was now a rundown building for travellers to stop by and rest. The once spotless walls had splatters of blood and specks of dirt covering them. While the windows, that used to show the outside of a blooming garden, were now empty frames and shattered glass shards laying on the dirty ground. The vines from the garden travelled into the house, slithering up the sides of the walls and wrapping around the furniture.

The family that once called this mansion their home, was, now, nothing more than mindless corpses searching for something to feast on.

The only sound you could hear in the mansion was the glass crunching under the feet of the walkers, and the low growls rumbling in the back of their throats. The peaceful yet disturbing silence was shattered when the double doors to the mansion were slammed open. The doors hit the walls behind them with a loud bang, catching the attention of the three walkers.

Their inaudible growls quickly turned into hostile snarls as their attention was captured by the intruders. A curly haired man marched inside the house, his gun raised and his face blank. He didn't give the walker enough time to attack him before he fired. The bullet pierced the head of one of the walkers, causing its lifeless body to fall to the ground.

A dark skinned man immediately followed after the leader, the fire poker in his hands gripped tightly as he viciously shoved it through the skull of one of the remaining walkers.

The door was pushed open wider as a young Male sauntered inside the house, his ebony coloured eyes fleeted over the dead corpses by his feet before he focused on the remaining one.

He raised his black army knife and flung it at the walker, only for the handle of the knife to slam into the walker's head before falling to the ground with a clunk. The walker stumbled back before continuing charging at the group, growls ripping through its salivating mouth.

The boy cringed, his nose scrunching up at the throw before he stole a peak at the leader. Rick sighed and ignored the throw as he ducked into another room to check if the house was safe.

An arrow flew through the air, piercing the eye of the remaining walker, causing it to fall back and hit the fall behind it. Jungkook's lips drew into a thin line as Daryl pushed past him and walked further into the house.

Sighing, Jungkook picked up his knife and shoved it back into its holder. He pulled out his gun and began to approach the stairs to the second floor. The steps creaked under his weight as he made his way upstairs, admiring the chandler swinging above his head.

His eyes followed the intricate designs dancing along the once white walls, only to be hidden behind all the blood and vines. Jungkook sucked in a deep breath, his nose twitching as the dust ran into his nostrils, tickling his nose.

He cautiously stepped onto the second floor, wondering if the floor would collapse under his weight. Jungkook's brows furrowed before he shrugged, not caring if it did. It's not like he'll loose anything.

Jungkook carelessly stepped onto the second floor, ignoring the screaming tiles underneath him as he turned left and made his way down the hall. As he walked past the rooms, he peaked inside each one to catch a glimpse of what was hidden within. Turns out it wasn't anything peculiar.

Bedroom.

Bathroom.

An office.

Who even needed an office?

A small library.

Ew, books, why would someone do this to themselves?

Jungkook rolled his eyes, the disgust filled stare turning away from the small library in the house as he made his way towards the last room. He pushed open the door, knocking on the doorframe and waiting for a few seconds.

When the silence was the only thing that followed after his knocks, Jungkook slipped into the room, allowing his eyes to examine it.

The floor was covered with dark wooden tiles and the walls were a snow white colour, except for the wall across from him that was a soft blue colour. A bed with messy, dark blue sheets was pushed against the blue wall and some pictures were hanging along the walls.

Jungkook stepped further into the room, turning towards the closet built inside the wall to his left. He pulled open the closet, observing the clothes hanging off of the coat hangers. Gguk ran his hand over the white dress-shirts and suits before pulling open a drawer, inside the closet, and rummaging thought the more casual clothes.

Jungkook pulled out a black, long sleeved shirt before stepping away from the closet. The shirt he currently had on, had a few holes in the front, allowing the cold air to seep in and bite at his skin.

Jungkook took off his cream coloured jacket and pulled off the sweaty shirt he had been wearing for a month. He dropped the rag to the ground before slipping on the new shirt and pulling his jacket back around his shoulders.

"Jungkook?"

Rick's voice echoed throughout the house, causing the said boy to freeze and look towards the door to the room. Signing, Jungkook cleared his throat, from the lack of use today, and shouted back,"Clear!"

He could hear the rest of the group enter the house and settle into one of the rooms downstairs. Jungkook sat down on the blue bed and placed his elbows on his knees before pressing his face into the palms of his hands. He released a deep sigh and squeezed his eyes shut, allowing his shoulders to slouch.

These past couple of months haven't been easy on the group. After the end of democracy, the group was tense and on edge around Rick. Some sent him hidden glares, others responded to him in a dry, passive aggressive manner. Some even going as far as to ignore Rick completely as if he didn't exist, even when he tried speaking to them.

For a while, Jungkook tried to ignore it, he even tried to diminish the drift between the leader and the rest of the group by talking to both sides, to try and make them understand each other. But no one listened to him, thinking that he was too young and naive to know much about serious problems like this.

As months went by, Jungkook grew tired of the heated stares that they shot Rick, when they thought no one was looking, or the unsaid, opinionated thoughts that lingered in the minds of the group members. He grew tired of listening to everyone bicker and fight over what to do and where to go. He grew tired of watching the power struggle and the fight for dominance as the group tested Rick's leadership skills.

Jungkook was left with no other choice but to distanced himself from the group.

Instead of going on runs with Maggie, Glenn and Rick, or staying at the camp to protect Lori, Carl and Carol, Jungkook went off with Daryl to hunt. The two would usually split up and head in different direction to give each other some space and solitude.

Going off to runs alone made Jungkook feel like he wasn't a part of the group. It caused him to remember the times that he didn't join the group and was on his own. He missed those times.

When on a supply run, Jungkook would find a small store, grab some food and water, before finding an isolated corner in the rundown store and staying for a while, enjoying the peaceful silence and lack of tension in the air.

Jungkook began to skip the group meetings, where they discussed where to go next, too exhausted to hear their endless bickering. It didn't help that whenever he tried to speak or state his opinion on the matter, the group would ignore his words and focus on their own way at doing things.

He slowly drifted away from the group even when they were sitting around the fire, sleeping. Jungkook would usually sit a bit further away from the members, his eyes wide open as he stared into the black abyss that was the dark forest.

He didn't even notice the thoughts about leaving the group, invading his mind, before he caught himself wondering what it would feel like to stand up in the middle of the night, when everyone was sleeping, and just leaving without a word. Jungkook would always shrug the thought off, not wanting to encourage it or act on it.

But as time went by, he found himself thinking about leaving the group everyday. His thoughts quickly went from leaving the group to why bother at all? Jungkook was exhausted of waking up everyday, only to go on runs for food that would be eaten when the next day rolled by. He grew tired of killing walkers only to come back to a group that wouldn't utter a single word to him or would continuously bicker with each other. Every day he would repeat this continuous process before laying down on the floor, in their momentary camp, and drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Jungkook didn't want to keep going, not with the group, nor without it. He knew that leaving the group wouldn't change the lack of motivation in him. Jungkook was tired and he wanted an escape, but the world didn't give him one so he had to create his own.

He grew more reckless around the things that could end in his death, sometimes even wondering what it would feel like to be bitten and have the excuse of having someone shoot him in the head to stop him from turning.

For the first time in his life, Jungkook felt hopeless. And the lack of hope made him terrified.

Jungkook shifted on the bed, raising his head and looking at the white wall in front of him. The sound of paper crunching underneath him caused Jungkook to stand up and pull the bed's messy covers away.

A dark red, crumbled comic layed under the covers. A red man was displayed in the cover with bold, letters above him.

"Daredevil." Jungkook murmured with furrowed eyebrows, reaching out and picking up the comic.

He sat back down on the bed and opened the comic, images and boxes of text immediately greeting him. Jungkook's lips barely twitched up as he flipped through the comic and his heart jumped in his chest at the sight of the familiar comic.

Jungkook remembered reading manga back in Korea and he was introduced to comics in America. The boy loved them, even though he hated reading books, he claimed that comics and books weren't the same thing and you shouldn't put the two in the same category.

A loud crash could be heard downstairs, causing Jungkook to jump and look away from the comic in his hands. He looked towards the hallway of the mansion, his brows furrowing in concern when he didn't hear anything else follow after the crash.

Jungkook stood up with a deep exhale, the smile on his face gone without a trace. He threw the comic on the bed before turning away and marching out of the room, walking back downstairs to rejoin the group.

"Let's go, Jungkook. You're gonna miss your plane."

A soft voice filled Jungkook's ears as he stared down at the mangas, debating which one to grab. The voice startled him, causing him to jump and look up wide eyed.

His mother, Jeon Sora, snickered under her breath, her eyes squinting at the corners, creating creases while her smile showed off her heart shaped smile.

Jungkook rolled his eyes, ignoring his mother's snicker or the urgent tone lacing her words,"I just want to buy this." Gguk reached out and quickly made a decision, picking up the Tokyo Ghoul one.

Sora raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a stern look,"You're not getting that, Jeongguk, you have a whole collection at home."

A pout appeared on Jungkook's face before he clutched the comic book tighter and gave her an annoyed look,"Yeah, but they're at home. I'm not going to be home for a year."

"So your gonna read this specific comic for a year?" Sora raised an eyebrow, pursuing her lips.

A small blush coated Jungkook's cheeks before he hesitantly nodded,"Ye...yeah! I guess, I mean, I can't leave it here. It looks so lonely and sad by itself." Gguk pouted sadly, looking up at his mother with wide puppy eyes.

Sora squinted her own, staring down at him with a stern gaze. After a few seconds of Jungkook's eyes growing in size and his button lip jutting out, Sora gave in with a heavy huff.

"Fine! Come on or you're going to miss your plane." Sora grumbled, pulling him towards the cash register. A beaming Jungkook slipped after her, giving the woman at the register his manga as his mother bought it for him.

Sora didn't have much when she was growing up. Her mother died by giving birth to her while her father worked in 2 jobs to provide for them. Sora never had the option of choosing what to eat or wear. She would be grateful for whatever her father could afford or bring to their small apartment.

But sora couldn't deny that there was a hint of sorrow growing in her heart when she always watched her classmates running around with brand new clothes cladding their bodies or the newest collection toys hanging from their arms. In the result of her desires not being fulfilled, Sora promised herself that when she had a child, she'll spoil them and they'll never have to worry about not having enough money to buy them something their heart desires. Hence why she always gave into Jungkook's requests.

Jungkook beamed, taking the shopping bag and giving him mother a silent kiss on the cheek as a thank you. Sora smiled faintly before grabbing Jungkook by his wrist and pulling him where he had to climb in.

Jungkook huffed, allowing his mother to pull him away, the annoyance on his face showing. He ignored the way Sora began to ramble-asking if he packed everything and telling him to call her everyday. Jungkook rolled his eyes, knowing that it will be only a year and she was only being dramatic.

Jungkook got accepted by an exchange program that allowed him to travel to America for a year and study there. When he found out that he won the competition, Jungkook was ecstatic because he had always wanted to get away from home and grow more independent.

Sora jabbed her elbow into Jungkook's ribs, making him wince and snap out of his thoughts. Grumbling under his breath, Jungkook rubbed his side and gave his mother a glare, only to see her and a flight attendant look at him expectedly.

A blush immediately appeared on Jungkook's face and he gave the flight attendant a nervous smile before offering her his ticket. She looked it, scanning it before nodding and stepping aside, allowing him to enter the plane.

"Well I guess this is all, bye, eomma!" Jungkook quickly rushed out, grabbing his stuff, ready to flee.

"Jungkook, Wait!" A hand grabbed him by the elbow and jerked him back, pulling him further off to the side.

A defeated sigh left Jungkook's thin lips and he turned to face his mother, feeling impatient and annoyed at her. Sora sighed, seeing the look before offering him a gentle smile.

"Jungkook," The said boy hummed, taping his foot against the ground impatiently, ready to go,"The world is a nasty place, it gives shelter to bad people and punishes the good. It doesn't discriminate, it doesn't care that you're innocent or not. It takes and it takes, and if you're not careful, it will take from you too."

Jungkook's face scrunched up in confusion and he fully looked at his mother, her words finally capturing his attention,"What are you talking about?"

"You're like a balloon, Bunny," Sora smiled faintly, reaching out a shaking hand and running her knuckles over Jungkook's chubby cheeks,"If there isn't anyone to ground you, you'll float away."

Jungkook's nose scrunched up even more as he stared down at his mother in compete and utter confusion, not understanding what she was talking about,

"What?"

"I'll give you something that will help you stay grounded." Sora murmured quietly, her eyes tearing up as she gently undid the compass around her neck and extended it towards a wide eyed Jungkook.

"But....you never....eomm-"

"Please, Ggukie, just take it. And when you're feeling lost and confused or scared, just open it and look where the needle is pointing." Sora mumbled, gently taking a hold of Jungkook's hand and placing the compass in his open palm.

(I know how compasses work but just imagine that when the needle pointing somewhere, it's always gonna be in the direction of South Korea.)

Jungkook's eyes softened and he inhaled deeply, giving his mother a small nod and a faint smile. He carefully placed the compass around his neck, his back tense as the heavy weight of carrying the thing fell on his shoulders.

"You're a bunny, Jeongguk, don't let anyone try and turn you into a predator."

Jungkook's face yet again scrunched up in confusion,"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sora snickered under her breath, quickly pinching his chubby cheeks before Jungkook could whine and push her hands away.

"The plane from Busan to Atlanta leaving in 20 minutes."

Jungkook's face perked up when he heard the announcement being made, he grinned widely, showing off his bunny teeth before quickly hugging his mother, not even giving her the opportunity to hug back before he was turning around and dashing where he should board the plane.

"Bye, eomma, see you in a year!"