Jihyo,the Coward Part Last

It had been a long day, and the group was on the move again. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow over the landscape. The walkers had been steadily increasing in number as the group neared an abandoned town, but there was no turning back. They had to keep pushing forward, finding shelter and supplies. Jihyo, however, could feel the familiar knot of fear tightening in her chest again.

She had been walking behind the group, trying to keep pace, but her eyes darted nervously at every rustling sound in the trees, every creak of the wind. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching her, something waiting to strike.

As they reached a particularly dense stretch of woods, Rick held up his hand to signal a stop. “We need to be careful,” he said, scanning the area. “This place is too quiet.”

Jihyo froze. Her heart skipped a beat. The quiet, the stillness—everything about the moment felt wrong. She could already feel the panic creeping up, her body tensing, her breath coming quicker.

"I—I can’t..." Jihyo whispered under her breath. She felt the overwhelming urge to run, to hide, to escape. But she knew it wasn’t possible. She’d have to face the walkers eventually, and the fear that gripped her wasn’t going to let go.

The sudden crunch of leaves snapped her from her thoughts. She turned, eyes wide with terror, and saw them—a small group of walkers stumbling toward them from the shadows of the trees.

Her heart raced, her body trembled, and without thinking, Jihyo bolted. She couldn’t bring herself to fight them, not now—not when her fear had consumed her entirely. All she wanted was to hide. She could already feel the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She just needed to find a place to escape, to breathe again.

"Jihyo, wait!" Rick shouted, but it was too late.

She wasn’t even thinking. Jihyo ran blindly through the woods, hearing the groans of the walkers getting closer behind her. She needed to hide, she needed to be safe. A barn loomed ahead, an abandoned, crumbling structure that seemed to promise protection.

But she wasn’t fast enough. As she reached for the barn door, her arm outstretched, one of the walkers lunged from the side, grabbing her by the shoulder. The pain was sharp and immediate. She gasped, stumbling as it sank its teeth into her skin.

“No!” Jihyo screamed, trying to shake it off, but the walker clung to her with terrifying strength. She kicked, but it was too late. The damage was done. She felt her body weaken, the blood dripping from her shoulder, as her knees buckled beneath her.

Her vision blurred, and for the first time, she knew that she couldn’t run from this. She was going to die.

---

The group heard her scream and immediately rushed to her aid. Daryl was the first to reach her, pulling the walker off and killing it with a swift blow to the head. Rick and the others arrived moments later, but all of them froze at the sight of Jihyo, collapsed on the ground, clutching her bleeding shoulder.

“Jihyo!” Rick yelled, his voice filled with urgency.

Jihyo’s eyes were glassy, her face pale with pain. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and she tried to sit up, but the pain in her shoulder was unbearable. “I... I’m sorry,” she whispered, barely able to speak. “I... I was afraid. I couldn’t... I didn’t want to... die like this.”

Rick knelt beside her, his hand gently on her cheek. “You’re not going to die, Jihyo. We’ll get you to safety. We’ll fix this.”

But Jihyo shook her head weakly. “No... I don’t want to die. I’m scared of everything, Rick. I’ve been scared of everything... but now... now I know I won’t get to be afraid anymore.”

Daryl crouched beside her, his face a mask of concern. His rough hands gently pulled away her jacket to inspect the bite. The wound was deep, the blood seeping through the fabric. His jaw clenched, and his eyes darted to the others. There was no way to save her.

“She’s been bitten,” he said, his voice low. “She’s gone. We don’t have time.”

Jihyo’s eyes welled with tears, her breath coming in ragged sobs. She could feel the life draining out of her, her fear growing with each passing second. She had been terrified of dying, terrified of this world, and now it was happening. She couldn’t escape it.

“I didn’t want this,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “I just... I just wanted to live. I wanted to be happy. I was scared of everything... and now it’s too late. I’m... I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so weak. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Everyone stood in silence, their faces etched with grief. Glenn lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes, while Carol placed a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a sob. They had all known this moment could come, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.

“I was scared of everything,” Jihyo continued, her voice barely a whisper now, as though she was talking to herself. “And now... I’m going to die because I couldn’t face it... because I ran... I never wanted to leave... but I did.”

Tears streamed down her face as she reached out with her uninjured hand, her eyes seeking comfort. “Please... please don’t let me go alone. I don’t want to die alone.”

Rick knelt closer to her, his eyes full of regret. “You won’t be alone, Jihyo. We’re here. We’re with you.”

But deep down, they all knew the truth. There was no way to save her now. The bite was too severe, and time was running out.

Jihyo gave a shaky smile, though it was filled with sadness. “I... I tried. I really did.”

With that, her eyes fluttered closed, and her body went still.

---

The group stood in a heavy silence, unable to find the words to break the moment. Jihyo had been so full of life, so full of fear and yet so alive. They had all tried to protect her, to make her feel like she belonged. But in the end, fear had taken her from them.

Daryl stood, his hand clenched into a fist, his face a mixture of anger and sorrow. “She didn’t deserve this,” he muttered, his voice low.

“No one deserves this,” Carol said, her voice cracking with emotion. “She was just trying to survive. She was just trying to be brave.”

Rick wiped the tears from his eyes, turning to the group. “We’ll bury her,” he said quietly. “She may have been afraid, but she was one of us.”

Everyone nodded, their hearts heavy as they began to prepare for the difficult task ahead. Jihyo had been afraid, and she had tried to run from that fear, but in the end, it had caught her. And they would never forget her for that, for trying to live in a world where survival was the hardest thing of all.

End of Story