The group had been walking for hours under the scorching sun, their stomachs growling and their tempers fraying. Song Jihyo, however, walked with her head held high, her pristine white sneakers somehow still spotless despite the dirt-covered terrain. She had been with the group for only a couple of days, but her sharp tongue was already starting to make waves.

“Why are you even still wearing that?” Daryl asked, motioning to her stylish designer jacket, which looked painfully out of place among the group's tattered clothes.

“Because I can,” Jihyo replied, her voice tinged with sarcasm. “Not my fault you all look like you’ve been dragged through the mud for months.”

Daryl rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. “Rich girl problems.”

Rick stopped walking and turned to face her. “We get it—you used to have money, a big house, probably a personal chef. But out here, none of that matters. You’re just like the rest of us now.”

Jihyo tilted her head, her gaze challenging. “Am I? Because, from what I’ve seen, you don’t got no money because you brokeass home couldn’t keep it together even before the apocalypse.”

The group fell silent, her words hitting like a slap.

“Excuse me?” Carol’s voice was low, her eyes narrowing. “We’ve all lost everything. No one’s better than anyone else out here, least of all someone who’s just as desperate as the rest of us.”

Jihyo shrugged, unfazed. “I’m just saying it like it is. I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I earned everything I had. But now? It’s all gone, just like for you. The difference is, I know how to survive without it.”

“Do you, though?” Glenn stepped forward, his expression a mix of frustration and curiosity. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re the one complaining the most about how things used to be.”

She glared at him, her voice rising. “You think I wanted this? To lose everything I worked for? I had plans, a future! And now I’m stuck in this nightmare with people who think they’re better than me because they’ve been living paycheck to paycheck their whole lives!”

“Enough!” Rick’s voice cut through the tension like a knife. He stepped closer to her, his tone calm but firm. “We’re all angry. We’ve all lost something. But taking it out on each other isn’t going to help.”

Jihyo’s shoulders slumped, the fire in her eyes dimming. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, her voice barely audible. “I just... I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be... nothing.”

Maggie placed a hand on Jihyo’s shoulder, her expression softening. “You’re not nothing. None of us are. Out here, it’s not about who you were. It’s about who you are and what you can bring to the group.”

Jihyo nodded slowly, her defenses crumbling. “I can help. I’ll try.”

“That’s all we ask,” Rick said.

As the group started walking again, Daryl fell into step beside Jihyo. “Look,” he said gruffly, “we all had lives before this. Don’t mean a damn thing now. Just do your part, and we’ll be fine.”

She glanced at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “You’re not as scary as you look, you know.”

“Don’t push it,” he replied, a hint of amusement in his tone.

For the first time since joining the group, Jihyo felt a flicker of hope. She might not have her money or her old life, but she had something just as valuable: a chance to start over. And maybe, just maybe, she could prove she was more than just a rich girl.